


The Sentinel

by MrFancyfoot



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angsty Schmoop, Dubious Consent, Dubious Morality, F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, Gratuitous Artistic Liberties, Humor, Murder, Non-Consensual Elements, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Male Characters - Freeform, POV Original Character, Political Intrigue, Schemes & Plots, Sexual Content, Tags to be added, Treachery, Violence, doom and gloom, hxh - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-06-10 01:00:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6931498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrFancyfoot/pseuds/MrFancyfoot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long ago, her family took it upon themselves to be stewards of nature through any means necessary.  Contracts, back room deals, and murder are breakfast matters.  Tapped to take over operations for a new reserve, Jenoa intends to do her legacy proud, but one man seems determined to be a growing thorn in her side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Things I shouldn't be doing right now: writing up new fics. But when the inspiration strikes... If you enjoy (or don't), please consider leaving feedback! :)

Jenoa heaved the last of her boxes into the room with a great sigh. This part of the transition was almost complete, she just needed to get all of her stuff set up. She looked around the wide room with pride: her new, very own field office.

Windows let in orange and reds from the fading evening light, catching upon the dark wood of her desk and bookcases and the manila of the plethora of scattered and haphazardly stacked boxes. The Vang family coat of arms glittered in the sun from its place upon the far wall, ever overseeing all.

In the next couple of coming months she would go through the Hunter's Association exams for a chance at her own hunter's license, until then, she would be setting up everything important required for the new wildlife and habitat reserve to be run temporarily without her. That included going through the current selection of employee applicants and getting the rest of her bare-bones staff up to speed. So. much. paperwork. Concurrent orders of business were checking out the rest of the facilities to see in person what needed to be repaired or updated and getting a jump on contacting their communications service provider to give them the all clear to begin laying the groundwork for getting reliable phone and internet out here. Sat phones would only do them good for so long.

Formal security and fencing details would be further worked out after she got a good feel for the layout of the reserve and facilities, for now, they’d be relying on the dogs to patrol and guard the offices.

The whole process of getting this place up and running would take the better part of a year, with a forecasted opening of full operations within two to five. Acquisition was largely public knowledge, the price paid when dabbling within certain governmental affairs when said property was being sold off largely due to lack of funds to keep it going while enforcing rules of habitat and wildlife preservation, and these first few years would be the toughest as family adversaries took it upon themselves to test the waters and sabotage their efforts. She would even personally be tested by those they’d done business with for decades to see if she was worth the effort of doing everything relatively “above board.”

For now, she’d go meet with the few who had chosen to follow her here from her family’s main reserve to get some food cooking and go over the week’s itinerary before they all went off for the rest of the evening to start putting their things away. Hopefully, they’d have at least a couple easygoing weeks before shit started hitting the fan.


	2. Exam One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenoa begins her journey to get officially licensed as a hunter.

Jenoa clutched the placard containing her new license tightly in her hand. This had been her goal from the start, but with all that had happened in the past several days, she had doubted more and more that she would actually get to this point with all of her limbs and mind in tact or even alive at all. At more than one point she had resigned herself to trying again next year.

**xXx**

By the time Jenoa had arrived at the site of the first exam - a grimy, dimly lit tunnel of sorts far underground - many other applicants were already milling and skulking about. An attendant handed her a number plate, reading '127,' to pin to her top as she started walking towards the crowd.

She was immediately approached by a jovial, rotund man wearing a pin showing he was number 16; a Mr Tonpa, as he had introduced himself. She greeted him in kind, giving her name only as "Blue," but chose to stay aloof from him after noticing the sudden interest and snickers from those nearby. He called her out as a rookie, somewhat to her annoyance. She questioned the motives of all strangers, most of all those here to take part in such a challenge that would likely pit them against one another at times, and this man didn't seem nearly as sincere as he was pretending to be. But he seemed knowledgeable and that could be of some use, so she didn't call him on his behavior, brushing off his offer of a drink with the simple excuse that she had her own.

She needed to keep her head low for now. Her family ran a very well known reserve for endangered and near extinct beasts and plants. Their reserves were some of the only places to find certain beasts and items, so would-be poachers and outlandish demands were _very_ common nuisances. Many had their own hunter's license along with the benefits afforded from it. If she was to take point on the new reserve, she needed access to the same intelligence and networks that they had and not rely only on second hand intel from her family. For those who could piece together her full identity and held more nefarious goals and moral codes, she was a potential target. Not something that she needed to expend energy to deal with right now.

There were few places that she didn't go with her pack of dogs. Normally they'd patrol the family lands for weeks at a time before returning home or overseeing civilian expeditions into the territories. Without them here, Jenoa felt very alone and jumpy. Her falcon would come to her whistle as long as she was outside, but the asshole of a bird wasn't quite the troupe of dogs with whom she'd been raised. They'd all be waiting restlessly for her to finish the trial, always ready to get back out into the fields and forests they called home.

She situated herself towards the middle of those who had gathered, against the lefthand wall. A good place to scope out everyone else while not being too far in front or back.

Jenoa made eye contact with a man who was approaching her with a leer, friends of his close behind. She was going to ignore them until he got close enough to pull at the dark cloth obscuring her head and the lower portion of her face. "What have we got under here, missy?" he laughed.

Her ears twitched in annoyance as she gave a low warning growl and made to forcibly remove his hand from her scarf.

"How rude," came a low reply from another man who stood out with his attire. "It is only polite to apologize to someone for bumping into them, and now I see that you are harassing this lovely lady." Despite his words he sounded equal parts amused as he was pissed as he came to tower over them all. "I think you owe us an apology."

The asshole trying to intimidate her let go, and she was about to tell the...colorful...stranger that she could handle it herself, but the guy went and opened his mouth to tell him off.

Jenoa couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped as within the following heartbeat of a moment the man screamed in horror as his arms dissolved into...flowers? within seconds.

"No smoke and mirrors here." The intervening stranger looked on with a grin and a mad glint to his eye as the man collapsed in a heap. Dead? Maybe. But she wasn't going to risk her life and chances to check and potentially turn such lackaday wrath on herself. Unfortunately, such manner of killing and death was one of the realities of this challenge.

While she had dealt with some high powered and skilled poachers herself, it had become clear now that there were people here, even among the so-called "rookies," way out of their league and possibly her own.

The magician walked away, a sinister mirth coloring the tune he hummed to himself.

She resituated herself away from the man's body, but now felt eyes on her wherever she went. While some were from curious onlookers, she had, once again, accidentally locked eyes with number 44, now a good ways down in the crowd. He held her gaze, tapping what looked to be a card to his lips, until she looked away self consciously.

She refused to let anyone get under her skin, especially this early in the game, but right now she couldn't do more than attempt to ignore him and the uneasiness he provoked within her. She didn't like that she had apparently _already_ attracted someone's unwanted attention. Hopefully the exam would soon be underway and she could put this incident behind her.

More hours passed by relatively uneventfully. Jenoa learned that her assessment about Mr Tonpa had largely been correct as she heard others referring to him as the "Rookie Crusher." By the time the first exam was officially underway, being lead down the tunnel by proctor Satotz, the room occupancy had more than tripled.

So far, there was nothing really to this exam but running - a test of stamina - so Jenoa took this time to further analyze those around her. The confident would run up front, the cautious somewhere behind her.  She noticed that there were very few women in number, but those around her looked quite capable. With any luck, the sleazy people would get knocked out of the race fairly early, so she wouldn't have to spare extra energy contending with idiotic advances and intimidation tactics again.

As they got further and further, she heard some trying to challenge and discourage others, though by the end, far fewer than she had expected had dropped out due to the distance run. The freakishly long tunnel eventually spat them out by a dense and foggy forest. The brief pause and scuffle between the first and second phase of this exam was welcomed by many, including herself. A man-faced ape - mimicking the form of Mr Satotz before them - intending to create confusion and sow doubt among the applicants as to the true identity of their proctor, gave everyone a taste for the kinds of trickery to expect henceforth within the forest. A flurry of cards dispatched the beast while proving that Satotz was, as he claimed to be, their first examiner when he easily caught them. Number 44, the owner of the cards, was either showing off or impatient to get the next phase underway, though quite possibly just wanted to kill something again already. _That_ bode real well for the rest of this trial.

With her lifelong experience with various kinds of beasts already, she wasn't really worried about most wildlife tricks in the fog, just about losing track of the examiner and the correct path to the next exam site. With how wet and hectic it was getting, standard tracking techniques were not going to be wholly reliable.

More and more people were either dropping out or succumbing to the various perils of the exam. She'd had the misfortune to witness and stumble upon some of the more gruesome deaths - people getting eaten alive and running off cliffs into pits filled with sharpened stakes - prompting her to try to move forward in the group following behind Mr Satotz. Unfortunately, this put her up with some of the characters she would have rather avoided.

It wasn't long a concern as the fog became much denser. Though only within a few meters of anyone else, figures quickly became only shadowy, colorless forms.

Her nose wrinkled at the feeling of her shirt beginning to stick to her unpleasantly from the humidity. She was sorely tempted to remove her scarf, too, as sweat gathered at her neck and her hair stuck to her face. It was becoming a chore to breathe through the thick material.

Her boots squelched thickly through the mud as this section of forest became swampier. Her movements became painfully slow in her bid to keep up. If she slowed any further or stopped, she'd lose her footwear or even become trapped here. This wouldn't do.

Taking to the trees would normally be much more stunted than ground travel, but this was one of the few circumstances where it would actually be significantly faster. Jenoa unfastened her whip from her hip and looked up for a suitable branch to catch and pull herself up to.

Winding up and aiming for one, she instead turned on her heel and cracked it above the nose of a giant yellow toad that had been preparing to lunge at her from the mud. It flinched back, and she yelled to further startle it. Satisfied that it looked keen to waddle back and find easier prey, Jenoa quickly hoisted herself up to the tree canopy.

She'd already lost track of the main group, so she took this moment to take a breather and regather her wits about her. Closing her eyes, she listened for the sounds of the examinees that stood out from those of the forest.

There was a lot of yelling suddenly going on in the southwest a few hundred yards away. Fighting? Something put an abrupt halt to it, though. Best to just avoid that whole area, then, unless she needed to pass through it. Somewhere above a bird cried out in mimicry of the voice of their examiner. _'That'll be fun for someone else to run into,'_ she thought.

Most of the forest, while punctuated with the occasional scream of horror or surprise, was pretty quiet. If it wasn't so damp and muddy and foggy, she would have rather enjoyed it.

Having no idea where the proper path now was with so many confused and sloppy tracks in the mud, Jenoa sighed and fingered the whistle strung to a chain around her neck. The bird was as annoying as he was helpful, earning the name "Trouble" from the time they had met many years ago. She prayed that he would behave himself and gave a strong blow to the metal whistle, punctuated by the pattern of his trained call. It was shrill and loud and would, in all reality, attract curious beasts and runners.

It wasn't long before she heard his locating cries as he circled above trying to pinpoint her. Another blow of her whistle and the petite crecerelle was swooping down to her. He landed on her shoulder and tugged at her scarf in greeting.

She affectionately rubbed at his neck as she spoke to him, "Okay, birdie, I need to find the site of exam two. Or at least the rest of the group running there. You up for it?"

Trouble churtled at her with a cock of his head before taking off through the trees. With the fog still so thick they wouldn't be able to see each other, so they'd have to rely on each other's Marco-Polo calls.

At his shriek from above a few minutes later, she knew to begin following him as he eyed whatever trail or clues he'd found while scoping the area. Every minute or so he would call out again to make sure she was tailing him.

Jenoa noticed that he was leading her vaguely in the direction where she had heard the sounds of fighting earlier. She was about to call the falcon back down when she swung to a branch at the edge of a clearing.

The fog was clearer here revealing what looked to be a massacre of several bodies near the center. She was immediately on her guard and pulled her whistle up to her lips to bring Trouble back to her. Jumping down to the grass - inwardly thankful that they seemed to have gotten past this part of the swamp at least - she cautiously strode towards the scene.

"Trouble, you're supposed to take me _around_ this kind of shit!" Jenoa admonished as he landed, gripping tightly to her shoulder. She looked around for anyone else sneaking around the area in case whoever had done this hadn't left the scene. This much spilt blood was bound to attract something unsavory soon, either way, so she didn't want to stick around.

Surveying the group, it looked to be a band of disciplined sword fighters. Only as she got closer did she see the flurry of playing cards embedded in the ground and limbs.

"Fuck!" she swore and began running back to the treeline to leave this area. An image of number 44 playing with those cards surged into her mind. She didn't want to run into him if he was feeling the need to take out competition like this. And here she had been swinging branch to branch travelling in this very direction while letting out pinging calls back and forth to her falcon.

She continued on around the clearing, assuming the other side of it had been where Trouble had been leading her. Taking to the forest floor to run again since this ground was solid, she went a fair distance before sending the bird back up to regain the trail once more.

 _This_ time around he seemed to be taking more care to lead her around volatile creatures and any skirmishes that he could see.

At least most of the time.

"Trouble!" she yelled angrily as he had lead her into a grove filled with hyper aggressive boars occupying their time by headbutting each other and every tree in sight. She'd had to take to the trees again and nearly lost her grip a good handful of times as various boar would notice her and try to shake her from the branches.

She was calling up threats to stew him when the falcon began circling nearby and shrieking excitedly. Minutes later she ran into a another clearing and couldn't help but grin.

On the other side was a large gate and a gathering group of the applicants who had made it this far. She had passed the first exam.


	3. Picky Eaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided that there will be a mix of elements from the anime and manga versions of HxH.

 

Those who’d made it to the second exam site got a few hours to themselves to lie about and recover from whatever trials they’d survived to get to the gate.  Most took the time to snooze in the sun under the trees or begin networking and chatting with others.

She’d found a good sized stump to perch herself on in the vicinity of the talkative ninja, Hanzo.

A few yards away, a younger woman was milling about, casting furtive glances her way.  After several minutes of this, Jenoa finally looked her way and stared until the woman glanced over again.  Tag reading ‘246,’ she took this as an opportunity to approach.  The woman looked fairly average as far as the applicants went, the only real outstanding features were her large yellow hat and blue hair.

“You seem familiar to me.  I can’t put my finger on it, though,” the woman asked.

Jenoa just shrugged, unwilling to really confirm, deny, or assist in the woman’s inquiry.

The woman’s words spurred the attention of number 53, an archer, who’d arrived at the site shortly after Jenoa had.  “You got a name?”

She fought the urge to roll her eyes.  She wasn't really up for chit chat right now, but this seemed to be a nozy, chatty bunch.  “Blue,” was all she replied, sticking to her current alias.

He gave his name to be Pokkle.  “Well, Blue, that's a mighty finely trained falcon you have there,” he said, eyeing up Trouble sitting alert on her shoulder.  She couldn’t help but snort a laugh at ‘finely trained.’  He must have been nearby enough in the forest to watch them interact but escape her notice.  “Not a whole lot of people with that kind of skill,” he commended, but clearly hinting that he, too, would be keeping track of her.  At least the group of applicants was growing much smaller after each trial, so she would have fewer people to worry about keeping track of the further they got.

The last people to arrive greatly surprised her.  Among them was a kid who couldn’t have been older than twelve or thirteen.  She hadn’t realised that they even allowed applicants so young.

Exam two was fairly uneventful, though highly frustrating.  So much so that technically _everyone_ failed it by the second phase.

Finding the boars for the first examiner’s requested dish ingredient wasn’t an issue - she’d already run into them on her way to the second exam site.  Even taking one down had been a piece of cake after someone else so very helpfully announced his triumph over finding their weak spot.  Quick work for someone, such as she, who was skilled with a whip.  Personal misgivings over how the group had pretty much decimated the local boar population with one fell swoop aside, everything was going well.

Examiner Buhara wasn’t at all picky about the taste or presentation of the dishes, despite Menchi’s complaining about everyone doing the exact same thing.  He was happy as long as the dish was simply “roast pork.”  Those 70-odd applicants who had been able to find and retrieve a hog from the forest were pretty much set after they got it spitted.

The second examiner’s request was for a dish called “sushi.”  Jenoa had absolutely no idea what that even was.  She’d heard of it as a popular city dish, but didn’t know what exactly it entailed or how it was made.

Going by exclamations from others, she was not the only one.  Instead of whining and sulking about it, she watched for the people who obviously knew what they were doing.  Which wasn’t many.  At all.  Even those who were familiar with the dish seemed confused over how they’d get the right ingredients and then how to actually make it.

She’d gathered that it typically utilized sea fish, but they were nowhere near the sea.  Most settled on going after river fish, so she sent Trouble out to go catch some to bring back.  He’d be much quicker than she was at the task and leave her able to continue eavesdropping on others.  Big help that was.

Hanzo was, loudly, in the same boat that she was with this task and took to confronting examiner Menchi over every part of it.

Within several minutes, she had a decent enough stack of small fish, but still had no idea what to do with them.  Jenoa didn’t want to start cooking them for fear that she’d miss some crucial step in the process.  She’d have to wait until someone who at least had a vague idea of what to do came back.

While keeping Trouble from eating all the damn fish they had in the meantime.  She let him tear into one to keep him busy.

This was so frustrating!  But she had to stay patient and keep her cool.

Within the next hour or so, people were starting to trudge back to the site with whatever fish or river critter they had caught.  And then stand staring at it over their cooking stations.

This was bullshit.  Her hunting license shouldn’t depend on making some random foreign dish for someone!

Which was exactly the issue raised once people started in on making their versions of sushi dishes.  Nothing anyone did was just right for Menchi.

“What do you mean it’s supposed to be raw?” was shouted back from the front.  “Who eats raw meat?”  Thank the gods for Hanzo.  But _fuck_ , she’d already cooked her fish after seeing many others do the same!  Jenoa stood there awkwardly feet away from the judges with a plate she _knew_ wouldn’t pass now.  Would they get more chances until the judges called it quits?  She hadn’t formally given her plate to Menchi to judge, so she could still try backing away.

Several people looked about ready to throw down and revolt.  Jenoa held off on sending her falcon back out for more fish, to instead see where this would go once the yelling and posturing started up.

One of the contestants ran at the examiners red in the face and enraged only to be thrown back by a mighty shove from Buhara.  After which, Menchi whipped out her knives and flew into a lecture about how no-one here really tried and how they all “lacked focus and the willingness to experiment with new things.”  Jenoa thought she was doing plenty of that...  But she failed them all.

A long pause set in as everyone took in her words in various stages of dejection and anger.

Their saving grace had been when an airship flew in and hovered over the site.  The Chairman of the Hunter’s Association, Netero, came down to set them all straight:  it was unreasonable to fail them all over the slights against gourmet hunters by which Menchi had become overly offended.  Unable to find a new examiner at such short notice, he requested that they be retested in a task that Menchi would also take part in.  Jenoa figured correctly that he would now be overseeing this phase to make sure that it went smoothly this time.

They were all flown on a brief trip in the airship to Mount Split-in-Half where Menchi announced that they would be making boiled eggs.

Jenoa stared down the ravine as she listened to Menchi’s instructions.  Spider eagles were a common sight at her family’s main wildlife reserve, given the mountainous areas contained in part of it, so she was quite familiar with them.  While not quite considered endangered, their pickiness about where they would lay their eggs - only in deep, sheer ravines such as this one - made them a fairly rare species.  Considering what they were about to be asked to do, Jenoa hoped that many more of the remaining contenders would chicken out for the sake of this nesting ground.  She didn’t want to be disqualified based on conscientious objections to the harm of local wildlife, but she would still likely be writing into the Association once this whole exam was done and over.  Such potential major hits to the populations of animals targeted by the exam tasks could lead them to struggle in the future, leave to find safer habitats, or die out completely.  It was an ecosystem nightmare.

Jenoa forwent jumping down with the first, overly large group.  She could tell from here that, strong as the webbing was, it was struggling to hold the weight of so many people.  She was anxious that the whole thing would collapse after seeing a few lines break free from where they were anchored on the ravine walls.  After they were propelled back up by another draft, she hesitantly jumped down with a much smaller second group of contenders.

She gripped her line tightly, waiting diligently for signs of the next draft.  Any further breakage could cause the whole web to fall, which worried her only for the sake of the eagles.  This was _so_ far past unacceptable.  If the whole thing fell, she'd have to find a way to call in conservation efforts to take whatever eggs survived.  A few broken lines the eagles could repair, though they'd be reluctant until everyone intruding left.  She should probably call someone to at least come check the status of the nest once they left.  With her whip able to transform into a glider at a flick of her wrist, she at least had no fear of falling.

This time around was taking much longer for a draft, leaving her with the fun game of staring at number 44, who was hanging directly across from her.  He seemed to be having a right ol’ time in his head.  She growled unamused when he began testing the web, or her patience, by bouncing it.  He merely grinned.  "You look nervous." _'Just keep ignoring him,'_ she thought.  44 just wanted attention.  He'd leave her alone if he didn't think she was any fun.

She didn't stick around to hear the rest of his words once she felt that first sign of a draft.

Once she had her egg and was back on top of the plateau with the rest of the group, she held it up to the light.  Though the shell was thick, she could make out the shadowed outline of a chick.  If it had been unfertilized, she wouldn’t have minded that the rest of the task involved boiling the egg.

“Oi, Menchi!” she called out as she approached the woman.  “If I put it back, would I still pass this exam?”

The examiner looked thoroughly confused and slightly ruffled.  “Why would you want to do that?  The task is to boil the egg.”

She didn’t care if it gave her away, but people so often didn’t care at all about the consequences of hunting rare and endangered species.  It was all about the thrill of the hunt and the race to own or take part in something unique.  “Hunters and people like yourself often don’t take much consideration into the damage you’re doing to local ecosystems.  Most of this spider eagle nesting ground has been destroyed in the process of the exam.  They likely won’t return here to lay eggs for quite some time, even though it would normally be quite safe.”  She held her egg up, “Damage has been done, but this egg will still soon hatch.  Even one more hatchling will help this population survive.”  Not all of the chicks would make it, of course, but after this, their numbers would already be lower than normal.

Menchi rolled her eyes and waved her off.  “So, you're some kind of authority on such things?"

Jenoa clenched her jaw.  So many people didn't take their efforts seriously.  "Yes."  If the spider eagle population here collapsed it would snowball into the potential collapse and-or overabundance of other species.  If it was found out that someone with Vang family status had taken part in what had caused it, her reputation would be at stake and she could potentially lose her hold on the new reserve.

Menchi looked to be biting her tongue, but eventually relented.  "Sure, kid.  If you can manage to put it back right, I’ll pass you.”  Menchi didn’t even think that she would be able to do it.

Jenoa ‘hmph’-ed and walked back to the ravine.  With only her weight, the webbing should be fine.  With how big the egg was, though, she wouldn't easily be able to maneuver on the lines and hold it at the same time.

Jenoa fumed.  She knew what she could use, but she'd have to reveal her face.  Well, she wasn't planning on hiding her face the entire exam, just until there were far fewer people.  Only about fifty of those here would be proceeding on to the third exam.

Sighing and reluctantly making up her mind, very aware that a several pairs of eyes were now watching her after her confrontation with Menchi, Jenoa carefully set the egg down, balancing it between some rubble.  She began unwinding the scarf from around her head and face.  It was the best thing that she could think of to make a sling for the egg.

The same young boy that she had taken note of earlier approached her and Menchi, looking upset.  "Can I take mine back, too?" he asked the examiner.

Jenoa brushed her dark bangs away from her face and held her hand out, "Let me see it?"

He readily handed it over, and she smiled warmly at him - if only others were so willing to at least listen to conservation advice.  Jenoa asked for his name and thanked him for his consideration.  She held the egg up to the light and showed the kid, whom she now knew as Gon, how to tell if the egg was occupied.  His had never been fertilized, so he was free to go ahead and boil it.

Some people around them were looking questioningly at their own, but passing the exam was now so easily within their grasp by boiling them.  She didn't have any other takers.

Making sure the egg was secure in her rigged up sling, she tied it securely across her back.  Instead of just jumping down, she decided to try waiting for an updraft to see if it could more gently glide her to the webbing as it died down.

She aimed for a section that still looked anchored well and sturdy, catching on easily and swinging her legs up to better crawl down it to where a group of eggs hung.

As she pulled and tested the webbing surrounding the eggs to figure out where this one would fit best, she felt a slight bounce in the web.  Looking over from where she hung upside down, she noticed that the other young kid, whom she had noticed hanging with Gon, had come back down.  It looked like he had tied his egg up within his shirt.  He mimicked her careful actions and crawled nearby, calling out, "This is more fun than just boiling it!  Where should I put this one?"

He seemed pretty bright and willing to work it out with a delicate touch, so she scanned around for a ‘good place for him to put his egg.  "Over there!" she pointed further down the line.  He looked over and nodded back before making his way over.

Making sure hers was secure, she climbed back up to the main web and watched the kid as he set to his task.  Jenoa ignored the draft that came through, keeping her hold tight.  She wanted to make sure that he had secured the egg well enough.  He seemed to struggle a bit but eventually got it.

"Looks good from here!" she called over to him.  He shot her a thumbs up and they waited for the next draft to whisk them back up once more.

Everyone was herded back aboard the airship, most of whom would be dropped off before those who’d passed the second exam were taken to the site of the third exam.  They seemed to have quite a bit of free time before they’d arrive, so Jenoa was going to take this chance to shower, eat, and get some sleep.  She’d dismissed her falcon knowing he’d tail somewhere behind the airship at his own pace, ready if she whistled.  He wouldn’t have been happy being cooped up in here for several hours.

Menchi caught her as she was poking through rooms to figure out where everything was.  “So what would you have done if I hadn’t said I’d pass you?”

Jenoa cocked her head as if in thought, paying more attention to the room she’d found than to the examiner’s words.  “Reluctantly boiled the egg.  A hunter’s license will help me do much more for the sake of conservation than without, so it’s a sacrifice I’d have to make.”  She turned to face the hunter fully, giving her an unfriendly grin, “But you’d find yourself blacklisted from my family’s reserves, sanctuaries, parks, and properties.  We are the owners and stewards of many across the continents.  As a gourmet hunter, you likely often have dealings with those who watch over protected lands and species, maybe in ways that you are unaware of.  While your license would normally grant you access to many of those areas, we can revoke that access at our discretion.”  Boredom colored her tone now, as she tried to put an end to this so that she could get on with her plans, “In short, we could make your life hell.  How could someone with such disregard for nature be allowed the chance to fuck it up again?”

Menchi was aghast, “That seems a bit drastic.”

She shrugged.  “We’ve done more for less.”  Her family had had hits put out on heads of state for things as slight as littering on their protected lands.

“So you’re from the Vang family?”  Jenoa turned to see 246 leaning out from a nearby room.  She added, “I’ve seen you in my travels to your family’s Nature Reserve.”

“Ha, guilty!”  Probably.  The main reserve had a lot of traffic in certain areas open to the public and research institutes.  Jenoa didn’t often deal with the satellite protected lands in person, so the woman wouldn’t have known her from those.  Unless 246 was there for something odd or really specific, she wouldn’t have been much of a blip on anyone’s radar.

“I’m Ponzu.  I’ve done research with some of the plants on your reserves.”  Jenoa’s mind raced through what the implications of that might be for her combat style.  This woman sought out rarer plants that would be found on their reserves, likely with the aid of a research visa.  Whatever she used was small enough to fit in her backpack.  Poison?  Likely somewhere in the chemical family.  Many would-be hunters were familiar with at least some types of poisons and paralytics, so it was always something to look out for, but specialists were always guaranteed to be problematic in battle.

“Jenoa.”  She’d look her up anyway, might as well make nice and network with someone who would likely be interested in her new reserve.

Ponzu nodded in acknowledgment.  “Some of the other women and I are setting up a room down the hall, if you’re interested.”  She gave the room number.  Jenoa told her she’d check it out later.

She would prefer a private room that she could deck out with her own traps, but there was something to be said of the protection granted from sleeping together.  Potential for fewer hyjinx.  She’d give it thought.

Ponzu could be a decent ally in the rest of these trials.  Jenoa had a feeling that Menchi didn’t quite see eye to eye with her, though she hadn’t exactly tried to remain friendly with the hunter, so she was potentially someone to look out for in the more distant future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we’re gonna pretend that they still would have cooked/boiled fertilized eggs. It’s not typically something done in the US, but in other areas, it’s often considered a delicacy.


	4. See Me Now?

Jenoa hummed happily below the stream of scalding water.  She’d convinced chairman Netero to reach out to a contact of hers about checking up on the spider eagle nesting ground that they had left back at Mount Split-in-Half.  She was looking forward to a relaxing night until the next exam trial.

The doorknob rattled noisily, startling her.  “This one’s occupied!” she called out, maybe a bit more harsher than needed, but her patience for dealing with other people was already at it's lowest for the day.  It was likely just someone looking for an empty shower room, but that little voice ever at the back of her mind told her to stay wary of threats and potential enemies.

When she felt the cold breeze coming around the curtain, she knew the door had been silently opened.  Jenoa took stock of where her weapons were, figuring out which one to lunge for.  Her dagger was propped just outside the stall.  She grabbed for it but her hand met nothing but air.

Breathing in to briefly calm her fraying nerves, she peaked out from the shower.  “What are you doing in here?” she exclaimed, huddling back behind the curtain.  Leaning against the wall examining her dagger was number 44.

“Looking for you,” he sang.  

Her brow furrowed.  What business did he have seeking her out?  “Why?  Has something happened?”

He laughed, catching on to her continued dancing around truly acknowledging him.  “I merely wanted to invite you to dine with me!”

A muscle twitched under her eye, refusing to believe that she had heard him right.  “You couldn’t wait until I was at least out of the shower, you pervert?” she hissed at him.  She wasn't sure if she would have humored such a request or not.  On the one hand, she didn't want to encourage this focus on her.  On the other, declining could make him worse than if he sated whatever curiosity he had and moved on.

The cold tile of the shower wall greeted her and she found herself held a good foot off the ground by the hand roughly grasping her neck.  The curtain was still pulled between them, so she couldn’t see his face.  She knew he did it deliberately to make fun of her concern.

“My, my.  Such hefty accusations.  What have I done against you?"  Was he serious?  Invading her space in a bathroom didn't ever register to him?  No, he knew what he was doing.  He was right: broadly speaking, he _hadn't_ done anything to her.  And she'd gone out of her way to ignore him - refusing to meet his gaze, passing him by like he wasn't there, paying no heed to his quips.  This was him saying, 'See me now?'

But she refused to give him an inch.  This had become a matter of pride and she wouldn't back down.

"Let me go," she demanded as calmly as she could grit out.

"Hisoka."

"What?"  She didn't want to play this game.  She knew it was his name, knew now what he wanted.

"My name, little Jenoa."  The way he dragged out her name like he was tasting it gave her chills.  Her teeth bit into her lip to keep herself from instinctively growling from the fear taking root in the stomach.

She clawed at his hand and reiterated her demand with a bit more bite, "Let me go!"

Jenoa hadn't thought he'd actually do it, but she felt herself being lowered.  His hand loosened around her neck, and he stroked up and down her jaw softly with the pad of his thumb.

She made a sound of frustration.  Why wouldn't he _leave_ already?  "If you're gonna kill me, just _do it_ already!"

Hisoka was silent for several moments.  A satisfied hummed passed his lips.  “No.  I want to see the little birdy soar before I pluck her wings.”  The thumb that had been stroking her jaw made one last pass, turning just so so that the sharp nail dragged across her skin with a painful sting.

With a blink he was gone, as if he'd become one with the steam, and she found herself once again alone in the room.  Breathing hard, she only now registered that the water was beginning to run cold.

She hastily finished her shower and grabbed a towel from beside the stall.  Her mind twisted his words this way and that.  What had he meant?

Jenoa noticed herself trembling and clenched her fists.  She had let him get under her skin.  The admission made her shake even more as she grew angry with herself.

Looking in the mirror, she grimaced at the purple bruises blooming around her neck.  Raising a hand, she used her nen to encourage it to heal faster.  She wouldn’t be able to explain it away if anyone asked about it: clearly she got into it with someone.

After redressing into the meager spare clothes she'd brought, finding the dining hall wasn't difficult.  She snagged herself a plate full of food and retreated to one of the empty bedrooms she had found earlier.

Until her run-in with Hisoka, she had planned on joining some of the other women to sleep.  Now, she wanted to be able to set traps to ensure that she would remain safe while she slumbered for the night.  The others would be able to sense her current uneasiness and she needed time to collect herself in private.

Once she had decided that she’d be in for the night, Jenoa began stringing her trap in front of the doorway.  Fine line, nearly invisible, made up trip wires connected to spring-readied darts laced with a powerful paralytic tranquilizer, the same stuff she used to put out elephants and owl bears for transport, vet work, and tracking purposes.  If one of those couldn’t get past this door fully conscious, damn near no-one could.

Nerves settled, she was fast to fall asleep.

**xXx**

The next morning, Jenoa woke up to a tower of cards next to her bed.

Trying really hard not to think of how long that would have taken him to build, she got up and went over her trap carefully to see if she could figure out why it hadn’t worked.  The window in this room would be too small for him to fit through and it didn’t look like it had been forced open or anything.  She’d go over the rest of the room if she didn’t find any flaws in her wire rigging.

She almost missed it.  The trip wires _had_ been sprung.  Ever so tiny, there were notches in the wire that she could just barely feel.  She’d bet on finding impact marks at the end of the darts’ trajectories.

He’d _reset_ the whole damn thing.  After being either fast enough to have dodged every dart or somehow immune to the tranquilizer used.  And built a damn card castle mere inches away from where she’d slept.

She stomped over to the cards and knocked down the whole thing.  She couldn’t freak out: that’s what he wanted.  But seeing those cards fall still brought her a small level of satisfaction.

Rubbing her face wearily, Jenoa sat down on the foot of the bed.  She started brushing through her hair with her fingers and twisting it into a plait to wind around the crown of her head.  As she worked, she carefully slid in the sharpened, poison coated pins.  The whole process was meditative for her, and she took the time to gather her wits and reflect on the predicament she’d found herself in.

She righted her bangs looking down at the floor where the cards lie.  What to do with those?  Jenoa knelt down and carefully gathered up the colorful cards.  Laying them out, the inspected them carefully.  They seemed to be just normal playing cards, nothing special.  Maybe they’d come in handy.  She stuffed them into a pocket in her satchel.

The chairman said they’d arrive by eight in the morning, which should have them arriving soon, so she set about dismantling the rest of her trap.  Grabbing some breakfast from the dining hall sounded like a plan.


	5. The Tricksy Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m choosing to take quite a few liberties on HxH beasties, including modifications and revisionings of existing ones (at least those that aren’t given much detail) and creation of new ones. Xx

Jenoa had recognized the tower on sight, though she’d never personally visited it before.  Trick Tower was a well known prison for dangerous and long-term felons.  She and her family had personally sent quite a few of the more egregious poachers and traffickers here that they had taken down.

Looking down the length of the tower like this was making her giddy from the height.  It had been weeks since she had done any actual flying!  So far, all she could see were the six-legged flying beasts which shouldn’t be all that difficult for her to deal with on the way down.  They were highly aggressive, but not the most agile or speedy of fliers.  Also: major problem pests, so nature wouldn’t miss any that she took out.

“An awful long way down, isn’t it?” the low voice sang into her ear from behind her.

“Mhmm,” she agreed, hoping he’d fuck off to find his own way down the tower.

Not inciting the reaction he wanted, he ran the nail of his finger down the exposed back of her neck.  She felt her skin prickling from the contact.  It wasn’t unpleasant, though completely unwelcome.  He gave a self satisfied hum of a laugh, continuing to dance his fingers across her neck and flicking the point of her ear.

One of the louder applicants was bidding the group an insincere ‘good luck,’ declaring himself a master climber as he got his foothold to begin his own descent down the outside of the tower.  He didn’t get very far before the deterrent beasts were on him.  He yelled in surprised anguish as he was ripped from the stone.  Dumbass.  If he had paid attention _at all_ to the tower surroundings before climbing down he would have seen the beasts flying everywhere.  Climbing down in such a manner left him completely vulnerable, though she didn’t know if he had any other skills or weapons that could have done anything to help fend off threats.

“Hope you weren’t thinking of trying that yourself,” Hisoka purred, enjoying the gruesome sight.  The action was finally picking up in his eyes, and so, too, was his excitement.

This was just the opening that she needed.  The nearby beasts were occupied with the bloodlust of a fresh kill, arguing over parts of the body as they were thrown to and fro through the air to be gobbled up.  “Nope,” was her only word in reply to the magician before she took this chance and pushed herself from the edge of the tower.

She allowed herself to dive several stories before she unfurled her whip from around her and snapped it to open to catch the air.  She didn’t have to worry much about the six-legged beasts that she was above, as flying up was a whole lot slower and more difficult and they likely couldn’t see her very well with the limited mobility of their necks, but the ones that were above her now as she passed would have the upper hand being able to dive at her while she couldn’t keep a constant eye on them.

The beasts had patterns to their relatively stationary flight paths, but there were so damn many of the things that even though she could do her best to avoid them, she would inevitably fall into the line of sight of at least one of them.  She tried to stay a good ways out from the tower so as not to become trapped against the beasts and the wall.  Mid-air fighting was not at all easy and would be clunky with their size, so they relied upon plucking prey off the wall and crushing them up against the stone.

She had gotten about a fourth of the way down the tower before her luck ran out and she knew she’d been spotted by the loud rumble of a roar from one of the beasts.  She’d need to either escape or finish it off quickly or else the skirmish would attract a whole swarm of the things.

As it got closer, Jenoa settled on a plan of attack.  Once it got within range, a flick of her wrist collapsed her glider back into its whip form.  Another flick and it wrapped around the wing joint of the beast and swung her under it faster than it could move to bite at her.

The six-legged beast shook and tumbled in the air, trying to shake her loose.  With its arms unable to bend back, she’d grabbed on tightly between them and the wing, knowing full well it was about to ram its back into the tower to try to crush her.

She waited until after the impact to unsheath her dagger.  Once she saw an opening, she sprang forward and jammed it into the back of the beast’s neck.  It let out a scream and began spasming as it fell through the air.  Jenoa jumped from its back and caught the air once again with her glider.

She watched as the beast fell, hearing many more calls from nearby flying beasts that dove after it.  She hadn’t thought that they’d exactly _help_ a wounded member of their species, but she hadn’t seen outright cannibalism coming.  They tore into the downed beast, pulling limbs off of it in midair and fighting each other.  As more sustained injuries, more of the beasts were attracted to the blood and fighting.  Wings were broken, eyes were plucked, feathers flew everywhere.  Jenoa was very glad she wasn’t in the middle of it.  Another part of her danced in glee that the issue of the six-legged flying beasts on her way down had largely just been taken care of.  They were taking themselves out.

Jenoa dove down several more stories to put more distance between the brawl and herself, just in case.  The ground was within reach, she was almost halfway there, but she knew to stay alert for more deterrents.

The tower itself was mostly smooth stone from what she had seen on the way down.  No spikes, no juts to deter climbing - though she supposed the sheer stone and the height _were_ the deterrents as far as that went.   _Actually…_  Jenoa swung her glider to take her a bit closer.

There was a glistening on the stone.  Whatever it was gave off a very pungent smell.

She didn’t get to give it any more thought as a very slight whistle was all the warning she got to move out of the way of an incoming projectile.  Whatever it was just barely missed her arm before she dodged.  Looking down to find the culprit, Jenoa spotted a large caterpillar crawling along the side of the tower.  Its back bristled with sharp spines, nearly giving the appearance of fur, around it shone a thick puddle of goo.

Angling around the tower, she passed beyond its range, but soon found herself staring down another creepy crawly as it reared up.  She spotted another a few feet down, realising this area of the tower was likely crawling with the things.

She spun and dodged as spines were fired at her from multiple sources.  She took her glider further out from the tower to get away from them.  They were slow enough that she didn’t really think they’d be much of an issue.

Then the humming started.  Softly at first, but it grew to a deafening buzz within the minute, making her wince.  She looked around wildly but couldn’t pinpoint a source.  It seemed to be coming from the tower itself.  

There was movement from further down the tower.  Jenoa squinted, trying to figure out what it was.  Things were coming out of holes in the stone.  She thought they were just going to crawl up the stone but then several took flight.  More and more were pouring out of the tower.  She was soon going to end up right smack in the middle of a swarm, but she couldn’t see a good way to avoid them.

Getting closer revealed that they might not be as bad as she had first assumed.  These were a kind of giant locust, the Red-Throated Admiral - so named for the red patches on their throats and their preferred habitats near oceans.  Each the size of her arm and destructive, though not known for being aggressive unless provoked.  They’d leave her alone as long as she steered clear of them and didn’t attack - which was probably what someone would do if they didn’t have prior knowledge of the species.

But then she saw the spines shooting out from the caterpillars and nearly panicked.   _Them_ attacking _would_ incite the swarm.  The buzzing grew in pitch as the locusts were shot.  Jenoa took note that the ones hit quickly dropped drunkenly from the sky, affirming to her that those spines were not only made to pierce but coated in some sort of fast-acting venom.

Moving together, the swarm descended on the tower.  There had to have been thousands of the things, blackening the air, and Jenoa still hadn’t seen a clear way out of their way.  The insects rushed forward and buffeted her in their rush towards their attackers.

In her distraction, Jenoa missed a spine flying at her until it was too late.  She was being pushed towards the tower, and struggled to jerk the spine free from her shoulder.  She could feel her grip slipping on her glider as she struggled to remain awake.

The last thing she remembered was watching as her glider reverted to its whip form and fell through the swarm as she remained somehow pinned to the tower stone.  Her head fell forward and her vision dimmed.

xXx

The sky was still bright when she awoke, with the sun hot on her face.   _Good_ , she hadn’t been out very long, then.  It was maybe late afternoon.  Jenoa couldn’t see much looking down, but very quickly realised that she was staring down the length of the Trick Tower.  Her vision swam and colorful shapes and patterns filled the air.  Lovely, maybe she hit her head.

She carefully took stock of herself.  Her whip was no-where to be found, so she’d no longer be able to glide down the rest of the way.  Her dagger was still strapped sheathed at her thigh.  She still had her satchel.  She was covered in sticky, stinky goo.  That must have been what was making her feel so delirious.

The caterpillar slime was what kept her pinned to the stone.  She didn’t see any crawling around anymore, so figured that the locusts had made short work of them - or whatever, she had no idea how long she had been out.  The buzzing could no longer be heard.

Groaning, she resigned herself to the fact that she’d now have to climb down the rest of the damned tower.  Unsheathing her dagger, she thrust it into a crevice in the stone.  Pulling herself free of this disgusting slime was the first thing to do.

Jenoa struggled against it, trying not to get any more stuck than she already was.  She gave up trying to get her jacket free - one arm was stuck so much it was hindering her movement to get the rest unstuck - and slipped out of it.  Ever so slowly, she was able to pull the rest of herself loose from the stone, gripping her dagger tightly and hoping she wouldn’t slip.  The rather extreme vertigo made everything extra difficult, but she hoped that would lessen if she got away from the bulk of the bug slime.

Once she was sure of her stance on the stone, she tested the strength of the sticky slime, wondering if she could use it to aid in her descent.  While it held pretty fast, it wasn’t too difficult to pull free from if it was only a little bit.  So she’d just have to avoid the large piles of the stuff.  An easy feat with how the sunlight glistened off the slime, but if she didn’t work fast enough, she’d lose the sun as it set.

Jenoa took a deep breath, instantly gagging at the smell of the stuff, and began her way down slowly.  She occasionally had to squint and shake her head to make sure she was actually gripping stone through the noxious visionary designs.

What felt like several hours later, she had gotten to the point where she was able to contemplate at what distance it would be safe for her to jump down the rest of the way.  The ground was _so_ close!  She could even just barely see where her whip had landed.

But this was no time to get distracted!  There was no reason that something _else_ wouldn’t be thrown at her.

By the time the sun started going down, she was only a few stories off the ground.  Jenoa was exhausted and could feel her arms and hands getting weaker and sorer and she was so hungry her stomach was grumbling, but reminding herself that she was in the home stretch kept her going at a good pace.

At a loud roaring squall, she groaned and about bashed her head against the stone.  She’d really hoped those things wouldn’t have shown up again.

Turning her head to look out as best as she could, she spotted it diving for her from several yards up.  Jenoa wriggled her dagger to loosen it, but still keep it pinned until just the right moment.  A fall from this height probably wouldn’t kill her, but it would still be highly painful and she still didn’t want to mess this up by missing.

Right as it closed in, she braced her legs under her and leapt off the tower.  She snagged one of its arms and thrust her dagger up into its belly.  The six-legged beast tried to shake her loose, only managing to scratch at her, but it spiralled and tumbled down in agony as she worked the blade down its abdomen to eviscerate the beast.  She was showered in blood and entrails when they both fell from the air.

The impact was painful, though not as bad as she had expected.  The beast had slowed the descent some, so the fall wasn’t quite so sudden.  Her head and back throbbed something horrid, though, and her vision danced colorfully.

As she lie winded on the ground, the sound of stone grating on stone came to her ears.  Jenoa turned her head towards the tower, half afraid to see some other beast come jaunting out, but only saw an opened doorway.

With a deep breath in, she dragged herself up then worked her way to her feet.  She rolled her stiff joints and looked down at herself.  She pulled a face at how gross she looked and felt, covered in slime and now blood and guts.  Jenoa tried not to breathe too deeply.

She looked around for where her whip had landed, she remembered seeing it from further up, but...there!  Stumbling towards it, she snatched it off the ground, noting the damage that had been done to it.

Once determining that the door was likely meant for her to enter, she slowly walked towards it.  The door lead to a dimly lit hall with another door at the other end.

Stepping through it revealed a large circular room where some of the other applicants were sitting.  Was this _it_?

A voice announced over some hidden intercom system, “Jenoa, applicant 127, is the seventh to pass the Third Phase.  Total time:  thirty-two hours and seven minutes.”

Jenoa’s eyes went wide.   _Thirty-two hours?_  How had she taken that much time?  She could have _sworn_ that she had taken less than ten hours, but she must have been knocked out stuck to the tower for _far_ longer than she had thought.  She was surprised that the slime had held her for that long, more so that she hadn’t been attacked by anything else.

A food cart rolled out from one of the walls was the first thing to catch her attention.  She crossed the room to grab a tray, though she had full intentions to come back for another.

Looking around for a place to sit, she chose a wall near Pokkle - as about as far from 44 and the creepy walking pincushion as she could get.

The archer sat up as she sat down.  He pulled a face.  “Ugh, you reek!  The fuck happened to you?  Why’d you take so long?  Thought you’d be the first one down, or, ya know, _dead_ , what with how you just jumped off the edge and all.”

Jenoa looked at him skeptically and spoke around a mouthful of biscuit, “Did you _not_ see the flying shit?  I took care of that, then I took a nap.  Well, it was evidently several hours long, so maybe not ‘nap,’ exactly.  Then that shit came _back._   I’d’ve been, like, the first down if not for the fucking caterpillars.”

He looked her over, “So how much of that’s yours?”

She assumed he was talking about the blood.  She looked herself over, honestly unsure.  She was only hit a couple times, that she could recall.  The puncture wound in her shoulder.  A few scratches on her other arm.  Palms and fingers a bit bloody from free climbing.  All in all, not terrible results.

Jenoa shrugged at him, allowing him to make his own assumptions about how wounded or not she was.

Pokkle coughed and subtly pinched his nose.  “What’s the slime from?”

The slime that she just realised was probably sticking her to the ground.  She should have rolled around in the dirt outside.  “The fucking caterpillars.  It’s some kind of psychotropic tranquilizer.  I was half delirious climbing down the bottom section of the tower before I got grabbed by what I can only assume was the last of those damned flying beasts.  Actually...”  She set down her food and fumbled through her satchel for some kind of container.  Finding one, she started scraping some of the sludge off of herself.  She’d have it analyzed later.  Maybe there’d be some use for it.

His eyebrows shot up.  “Last?  Wasn’t there a ton of the things?  Did you kill them all?”

She laughed, picturing the cannibalistic event that was rather humorous now that she was relatively safe.  “Well, whether _I_ killed them’s debatable.”

He chuckled in response, figuring he wouldn’t get many more details there.  “Weren’t you the one complaining about boiling an egg last phase?”

She nodded, acknowledging the point.  “Sure, but these were pests.  They’re typically considered invasive and do more harm than good since they have no natural predators themselves.”  She waggled her finger as she raised another biscuit to her mouth.  “Conservationists have to look at _all_ angles of the problem.  Sometimes culling is a needed evil.”

Jenoa turned back to her food and saw Pokkle stand, wiping at his nose.  He shook his head and walked off to another wall and sat, but still trying to play it off like he wasn’t affected.  He looked a bit pale.

She’d probably be left in peace now, though they still had thirty-odd freaking hours until the end of this thing.

Finished with this tray of food, she made to get up to get more, but her pants stuck firm to the floor.  She harrumphed in annoyance  and dug through her bag for her spare change of clothes.  All she had was a tunic and leggings, but they’d be better than struggling with these pants and being unable to move for the next several hours.

Moving her legs out awkwardly, she began unlacing her boots to shove them off.  

“Wh-what are you doing?” the ninja exclaimed, growing red in the face.

She pretended to think, then made eye contact with the man.  “Taking my pants off.”  Half of the guys were pointedly looking away, while the rest stared on at her, one more leery-eyed than the other.  Jenoa paid them no mind.  She unbuckled her belt and the straps for her dagger and took them off to shimmy out of her pants.

He was still baffled.  “Why?”

She rolled her eyes and stood, completely uncaring of standing there in nothing but a shirt and panties.  She jerked up on a pant leg, demonstrating how they’d become veritably cemented to the ground.  “Hopefully, so I can burn them.  If it offends you so, cast away your delicate eyes.”

He snapped out of some stupor and turned away, glowing even redder.  Well, she knew playing dirty would work if she ever had to fight him.

She dragged the leggings on then dug through her bag for something to flush her shoulder wound with.  She had a small bottle of antiseptic and some cotton squares.  Pulling her sleeve to and fro, she finally jerked the shirt off over head.

“Oh, suck it up,” she called over at the sound of some strangled cry escaping from Hanzo.  All those years spent training secluded in whatever ninja monastery apparently meant that he had little experience with women.  She still wasn’t showing much in the way of skin, so she didn’t know what he was all flustered about.

She soaked the cotton in the antiseptic and gently rubbed it into the puncture wound, gritting her teeth from the stinging sensation.  Hopefully, this would work to neutralize the slime stuff in and around it.  With it covered, she could start healing it away from prying eyes.

With that all wrapped up, she pulled the tunic over her head and began relacing her boots.  With the amount of time they had left, she could probably even get most of the ickiness brushed out of her hair.

But that food trolley was calling her name again.

Using some of the left over tea mixed with a bit of antiseptic, she attempted to clean her hands off this time around, scrubbing the grime off with her old shirt.  It stung, but with a quick push of her Nen, the scrapes on her hands began fixing up and would be soon be gone entirely.

Picking up her whip, Jenoa looked it over carefully, pulling the spines and folds apart from the joints to assess the damage that had been done to it.  Some of the glider material was torn, but not to the point of where it wouldn’t be fixable.  She’d thought about trying out the properties of that goop as a binding agent, but didn’t exactly want to experiment with that kind of thing right now.  It was likely water soluble or something anyway, which wasn’t a property she wanted in a binding agent for her glider.

A few dabs of repair glue, and a once over with her old shirt to get the dirt and grime off, and it was all good to go for now.

Jenoa started running ways to entertain herself through her head.  Throwing shit at 44 across the way, who was not so secretly peering at her through his growing card tower, was quickly quashed.  Seeing how he’d react if she whipped out his cards that she had stashed in her bag and just started playing solitaire was also quite out of the question.

No-one seemed to be particularly chatty anymore.  She was used to being alone for long stretches of time out in the middle of no-where, but she was still always surrounded by nature.  Not stuck in a big stone room for several hours.

She sighed and ran through plans for the reserve again.  Her staff had assignments and orders to follow through on while she was gone, but there were bound to be hiccoughs and unforeseen problems.  Her younger twin sisters were guarding the place, which she fully entrusted to them as they were more than capable, but they weren’t about to touch paperwork and take phone calls.  Given that no-one outside the family and her staff knew that she was here, she didn’t want to imagine the mountain of paperwork and back calls building up.  Milan wasn’t supposed to be meddling with her affairs now that he was taking over the main preserve from their parents, but she knew he’d be keeping a cursory eye on her place while she was gone.

 _Ugh._  She didn’t _want_ to think about the reserve right now.  That was all that would be on her mind after this whole exam was done.


	6. Zevil Island - Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm horribly uncreative with chapter titles, but I've always felt that they're helpful when reading across multiple sessions so you can find your spot quicker without playing "figure out what chapter I was on last time." Also, totally making some changes to how many people passed the Third Phase. Math gets real fuzzy for the tags, otherwise. >.>
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and subs! Reviews are welcome! Xx

The announcement of the last people to enter at the end of the timed period was a god send. She'd taken to snoozing and stretches between sporadic meals to keep herself entertained. Once Ponzu had come through one of the doors, she'd had someone to occasionally talk to, but, like herself, the other woman was more resigned in demeanor. They were too wary of each other to really talk in depth.

Thirty of them had technically passed, though one had made it through his door only to die upon arrival.

Soon after the announcement that the phase was over, a door opened to the outside of the tower - notably, _not_ the one that she'd entered from. The twenty-nine of them marched outside to find the tower warden, their examiner. She recognized the shorter man as Lippo.

She noted that none of the carnage from her descent was anywhere to be found. She wondered if it had been cleaned up or if the various beasts had acted as scavengers to pick everything apart.

"Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on having escaped Trick Tower," he spoke in a clipped tone. Glancing to her, he added, "Or having otherwise circumvented it." He placed his arms behind his back. "Only the Fourth and Final phases remain." Just two more phases, then.

Lippo jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the island off in the distance. "The Fourth Phase will take place on Zevil Island." A snap of his fingers and a cart was wheeled out, upon it a good sized box. "Let's get started. I will need you all to draw lots."

At the exclamations of why, he began to elaborate, a dark grin spreading across his face, "To determine who will hunt, and who will be hunted." He gestured to the box. "In here there are twenty-nine numbered cards. In other words: your ID numbers. Now, I will need each of you to draw a card in the order by which you exited or completed the tower. Will the first person come forward?"

Before she had entered the tower earlier, there had been six others already there. She didn't know the exact order of who had gotten there first, but could have given it a rough guess, though their individual trials through the tower could have had a strong impact. She had the first three pegged easily, not bothering to restrain rolling her eyes in utter surprise as Hisoka stepped forward as the first person to have completed the phase.

The pinhead, Gittarackur, was next, followed by Hanzo. The guy with the fancy blow dart pole. Then Pokkle and the spear hunter. She was seventh.

Everyone else filed suit taking a card out of the box one by one until they each, fairly unenthusiastically, were examining one. There wasn't much to look at since the number was behind a seal still, but they were soon instructed to remove it.

Her card was revealed to be 80. He said these were ID numbers, didn't he? This one belonged to the woman with the sniper rifle. Jenoa had just spent several hours watching her methodically clean her weapon of choice.

"This number belongs to your target," Lippo informed them. "This box recorded which number each of you drew, so you may dispose of the cards if you'd like. The goal of the next phase is to steal your target's ID tag."

"Oh, so we don't have to kill our target?" came a relieved voice to her left.

Lippo shrugged, "Naturally, you are welcome to use any method you choose to steal the tags. Including killing the target and taking the tag off its corpse."

There was some arguing amongst the team of brothers, but the examiner spoke over them to explain the points system behind the tags. They needed six points to pass on to the Final Phase, with three points each awarded from their own tag and their target's tag. All other tags were worth only one point. They could get any combination of tags while on the island, as long as they totalled six points by the end.

By the time they were shuffled over to the little boat to haul them over to the island, nearly everyone had removed their tag. Some to protect it, some merely to make it difficult on those who had not taken note of which number belonged to which applicant. She'd hidden hers within her satchel for now.

Jenoa furtively glanced around for eyes and lingering gazes the whole way there, seeing if she could pinpoint who had her number as their target. But this group had been narrowed down to those most capable by now, so everyone was mostly keeping to themselves again and not giving anything away.

Being outside again was nice. She may have been the only one to have seen the sun at all in the past seventy-odd hours, but half of that was still spent in a dimly lit room.

Their new attendant told them that they'd be spending a whole week on the island. So she had that long to keep others off of her tail and track down number 80 or three others. At least she was leaving the boat well before 80, so she could try to watch where she went from further in the treeline.

Given the general proclivities of the others, Jenoa figured she would stick to the trees for most of the trial. Not many people took the time to look up. Number 80 would stalk her target, but camp out at a distance since her favored weapon was a sniper rifle. Jenoa would have to do the same and watch for openings.

The first day was spent getting the lay of the island and looking for a source of fresh water. Trouble had reappeared of his own accord, so she sent him off to keep an eye on 80 for her. She hadn't really wanted him out here as there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that anyone targeting her would also see him as a target to take out if they connected the two of them. There wasn't a rule saying she _couldn't_ give her tag to her bird - it's what she would assume of another with such a companion. He was a crafty little bugger, but as much as she threatened to flay him, she did prefer him alive.

Jenoa stayed near the river just long enough that she could rinse the last of the slime from her hair and freshed up. It wouldn't do to have her enemies able to smell her coming.

xXx

Three days had gone by uneventfully. Much was quiet on the island - most of the time. If not for the "most dangerous game" aspect, it would have been quite peaceful and relaxing. She had dismissed Trouble to do as he pleased for now. She'd gotten bored watching number 80 for a good enough opening - she would have to wait until the woman had at least found her own target to take her focus away from her surroundings.

Jenoa was currently occupying her time by watching the kid, Gon, walking around following the hemotropic butterflies that he had tied to fishing line. He was circling the general area of her own target, so it wasn't taking her too far out of her way. After several stops at things that were clearly not what he was looking for, he finally came to a halt and cut the butterflies loose. It was difficult for her to see where they were going, but he must have been using them to track his own target - an interesting little trick.

Curious, Jenoa climbed further up the tree and crawled forward to get a better look at the clearing. And then made immediately to high-tail it out of there when she spotted number 44 sitting under a tree. Well, the kid was certainly going to need all the luck he could get, but she needed to get out of there before the man spotted either of them. She liked the kid, but she didn't want to blow her own chances if a fight with Hisoka went sour and she felt the need to intervene.

Jenoa circled around the clearing from afar, looking to pick up the trail of her own target again. She could sense that there were several people in this general vicinity, so she moved as carefully and quietly as she could.

She had only found number 80 again when the woman was falling out of her tree several yards away. This was followed by a slight clinking as someone made their way through the dense underbrush below where she lie hidden pressed against a thick branch and leaves.

Swearing up a storm internally, she watched as creepy-as-all-hell Gittarackur ticked and creaked his way stiffly over to the body. He was the last person she wanted to go up against to fight for a tag and now he had her target's.

 _Fuck._ She wasn't about to fight _him_ unless she absolutely had to, so now she'd have to go about getting three other tags. Jenoa knew when to back down to keep her head.

She waited for him to leave, not calling it safe until he was well out of sight. Figuring the best path was now to work her way in the direction she'd already been heading since Gittarackur would no longer be in that area, Jenoa took off through the trees once more.

In the end, she'd gone all the way back around to the clearing, her curiosity getting the best of her. It hadn't looked like anything had happened here, yet. She was about to leave again when Hisoka spoke up.

"I know you're there. Why don't you come on out?" Who was that meant for? Someone specific or did he know that there were multiple others about?

When no-one made any move to reveal themselves, he stood and began walking forward - which meant that he _hadn't_ meant her since she was off to his far left. But there was a chance that Gon was still hiding over there!

At the last second, the tall man with the spear - her mind blanked on his name - jumped forth from the brush to challenge number 44. The battle was short lasting and extremely one-sided. All the man accomplished was landing a cleaving blow on the lone tree of the clearing, cleanly felling it. It was evident from the start that Hisoka had no desire to fight the man, reiterated when he pointed out that the other was mortally wounded. He didn't want to bother fighting a dead man.

The whole confrontation was ended by a barrage of pins hitting vital points on the man. Oh, if there was ever a time to leave the scene…

Gittarackur jerked his way into the clearing wearing a crooked grin. "Sorry about that. I carelessly let him escape."

Hisoka looked back at him and called him out, "Liar. He probably begged you to grant him one last request, yes?"

"Well, I felt sorry for the guy. He was dead either way." After this their conversation became muffled by the sound of the strong wind through the trees. The occasional words she managed to pick up seemed to still be along the same line of conversation, though.

Gittarackur reached up and plucked one of the yellow tipped pins from his head. Then another and another until they were each held between his fingers. Abruptly, his whole head began to morph grotesquely until it finally settled into a very familiar mug.

She growled, part in anger part in annoyance. She hadn't known any of the Zoldycks would be here, especially him. They actually had history together since her family often contracted out to his. She'd personally overseen some of his bounty and hit payments. Things were a little different now that she actually knew the guy behind his creep facade.

Both men glanced up in her direction. She made no move to conceal or further reveal herself once she'd realised that they had sensed her, though she reined in her anger and recentered herself to remain calm.

Illumi 'hmm'-ed. "Miss Vang is nearby. Some guy tried to snipe me earlier, so I killed him. I think I must have taken the tag she needed. Since you seem so interested, I'll let you two figure that out. I don't need it." She watched as he threw a tag to the magician, then dug himself into a hole to...sleep in, according to the words floating to her. Weirdo.

Hisoka had gone from looking half bored to death to grinning insidiously. He braced his chin on his palm and held out the ID tag reading 80 in plain view for her to see. Crooking a finger, he bid her to come out.

She scoffed and stayed perched right where she was lying across the branch.

He shrugged and stood to walk to her instead. Her mind raced through possible scenarios for how this could play out. He was unlikely to try to kill her at this point in time. Something interested him enough that he looked willing to negotiate, as much as she disliked the idea.

Ambling into the trees, he cast his eyes about to find her. So he could or had sensed her, but couldn't pinpoint her. Jenoa wasn't about to make it easy for him, so she merely watched with her head propped on her crossed arms as he stood below and traced his eyes slowly up the trees with his head cocked. She could feel the influence of his Nen reaching and eventually finding her own.

Hisoka turned and looked up at her location. Smiling to herself, she knew he still couldn't see her through the thick leaves.

Then she blinked and he was gone. Jenoa was instantly on her guard, her arms and shoulders stiffened and ready to launch her off the branch any moment.

A low chuckle drifted down from above her. A part of her relaxed now that she knew where he was, though the hair on the back of her neck was standing tall. Refusing to let him see her as weak, she rolled over and stared up at him, keeping as relaxed as she could. Jenoa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I have a proposition for you, little bird." Her eye ticked at the nickname, but she was willing to at least listen. "I will give you this tag if you either trade another for it...or comply with a simple request."

Well, that was pretty much along the plan she'd already resigned herself to when she'd seen Illumi as Gittarackur originally take her target's pin. As much as she wanted nothing to do with him, finding one tag would still be a whole lot easier than finding three. Worst come to worst, she could bypass him entirely and just go find three regular tags.

Her nosiness still got the better of her, though. "What's the request?" she asked.

He positioned himself lying across his branch in mimicry of her. "I won't tell you unless you choose it." So it could be absolutely damn near anything. "But I assure you, it's not anything that should be _terribly_ difficult for you." That didn't actually do anything to reassure her.

"And if I choose it but don't want to do it?" She could hardly believe she was even giving it any thought. But her starting point was already set to 'get three tags' now, so another option was within the realm of consideration.

He flicked the tag up in his palm, toying with it. "Then you wouldn't get this tag." Jenoa eyed it, half mesmerized by the fluid movements as she thought.

The request was a request, it wasn't binding. He would not, apparently, force her to follow through with it. The smart thing to do would be to take the known easy path and just go find another tag to trade and be done with it. But her curiosity, the risk-taking bitch, was threatening to get the better of her, a small voice trying to tell her that whatever he wanted couldn't be all that bad or he wouldn't expect it to stand any sort of chance for her to actually do.

Her lips quirked into a skeptical pout. "What's the request?" she asked again, knowing he'd take it as affirmation of her choice.

His arm came down towards her until he was resting a nail upon her lips and she was looking at his hand cross-eyed. "A kiss."

She would vehemently deny that her face heated in anything but indignation at the suggestion.  Or that she’d noticed how much the man smelled like candy.

"I think I'll pass," she dismissed flatly and rolled off the branch, catching her footing evenly on the ground. She sauntered off, mind turning to strategy over how she'd go about acquiring three tags in the two and a half days she had left. He wouldn't follow.

"I'll be around, should you change your mind." Her nose crinkled in part of a scowl. She hated how smug he sounded. Did he think she'd come crawling back? Or was he actually _happy_ that she had turned him down? Trying to puzzle out the motivations of a madman would just make her crazy, so she put it out of her mind and set about finding a new target.

Sneaking a glance back revealed that he'd already left.


	7. Zevil Island - Part II

Jenoa decided she’d head to the opposite side of the island to see if she’d have any luck.  Stopping off at a pool of fresh water was when things finally started looking up for her.  Nearby echoed the sounds of an ongoing battle.

Pulling her scarf tighter to keep the chilly night air off her neck, she crept up to observe it.  A pair of weapons experts were duking it out and looked to have been at it for awhile.  A grin spread widely across her face, and she jumped up to a branch to sit back and watch.  She’d let them continue to wear themselves out before confronting one or the other.

After several more minutes, she decided she favored the guy with the broadsword.  From his technique, he appeared to have the upper hand in experience and certainly in strength - or maybe endurance, she’d cede since she came late to this party - parrying his opponent’s blows like they were nothing.

Steel hit steel, and Mister Twin Blades was on the defensive, being pushed back into the treeline.

She cracked open a container of berries that she’d picked from around the island and popped some into her mouth.  Best to get some supper down now since this fight would probably be over within the next couple of minutes judging by how worn they both appeared.  Both men had various cuts, but one was far more roughed up than the other and stumbling frequently now.

With a mighty yell, Mister Broadsword finally straight up impaled his opponent through the gut, pinning him to the tree behind him.  Twin Blades choked up blood and struggled for a moment before death took hold of him.

Broadsword jerked his blade free and fell forward to brace himself on it while he caught his breath.

Knowing an opportunity when she saw one, Jenoa put her food away and stood.  Unhooking her whip from her hip, she kicked herself forward from the branch and quickly dashed towards the last man standing, intending to take him by surprise.

His reflexes were better than she’d given him credit for, given his state.  Instead of catching his body with her whip, he spun and blocked her with his sword.  He swore and tried to tear his sword free.  A flick of her wrist to release the blade sent him stumbling backwards right over the body of his prior opponent.

Her boot landed on his hand to keep him from getting a grip on his sword again.  Fear shone from his eyes, but he didn’t need to worry - she wouldn’t kill him.  She had no good reason to, yet.  A swift blow to the temple with the pommel of her whip and he was out.  A dab of her own paralytic agent to one of his open wounds would ensure that he’d stay out for at least several more hours.

Jenoa pulled him off the dead guy and rooted through his clothing for his tag.  She found it hidden under his sash.  Sticking him up against a nearby tree, she turned to Twin Blades and did the same.  She’d nearly had to strip the guy completely before finding the tag hidden pinned in his shoe.

Feeling bad leaving the live guy out here unable to defend himself for so long, she decided to haul him up into the tree and tie him there.  Not a difficult task, but she didn’t want to stick around here any longer than she needed to.

She secured the tags in her bra, away from her own that had been placed in a compartment in her bag.  Daddy always said not to put all your eggs in one basket.  Now she just needed to get that third tag and she’d be all set!

The sun was beginning to set.  She’d noticed that most people hunkered down at night.  Normally she did, too, but without a clear target anymore, it could be worth her while to do a bit of stalking around.  Her night vision would greatly aid her, but the moon was high, so she’d still be pretty visible to those who were perceptive and experienced enough to detect her even while she hid her aura.

It was getting easier to smell people, a fact that grossed her out even with her enhanced sense of smell.  No-one was taking the chance to _bathe_ while here.  Her mind chose that moment to remind her of the one person she’d come across here who smelled _delicious._  Not that that was her opinion or anything.  Just a statement of a fact about the man from her internal dossier that she kept on all persons of current interest.

Jenoa knew someone was somewhere upwind from her.  She took stock of who she knew was left versus what she remembered of those that had made it to the island.  The main people she’d been keeping an eye on were all at the other side of the island last she’d seen them.  There was little reason why that _wouldn’t_ change, though they all seemed to have had most of their needed tags or were actively stalking someone.

Who did that leave?  The guy with the monkey, Tonpa, the three brothers, the kid with the white hair, Hanzo, a roguish looking guy, and some other nameless faces.

A glint caught her attention out of the corner of her eye as she moved through the trees.  She stopped to find what it had been.  As she moved her head side to side, she watched the moonlight glance off of a thin line of wire.  Someone had strung up a trap here.  Following it down with her eyes, it looked to be connected to a hidden trip line on the forest floor.

Jenoa climbed up her tree, following the line in the other, to see what it was set to spring.  And right _there_ \- some kind of needle or dart.  She couldn’t see anything else around set up here, so she carefully pulled herself over to the trap lines to examine the work closer.

Crude handmanship was what she found.  Hurried knots meant that everything was looser and flimsier than should be.  It was a very simple task for her to disarm the trap.  She’d keep the lines up for now - no need to alert the trapper that someone had discovered his traps.

A few trees away, she found another such trap.  There were more laid out in a kind of pattern every few trees.  A novice technique to remember where the traps were strung.  If she felt like bothering to look,  she’d probably find that he’d marked the trees down lower.  It didn’t matter now as she went about disarming each one she found.

He was around here somewhere.  Maybe asleep, maybe watching.  Traps were a good idea to set up out here if you were trying to rest, but, as she’d learned, most of those who had made it this far would see them as little more than annoying.  Best case, they gave you those precious few seconds to catch your guard.  Worst case, your enemy snuck by them entirely and caught you unawares.

Closing her eyes, Jenoa concentrated on listening to the sounds of the night - or rather, picking out what wasn’t a typical sound of the night.  Heavy breathing, quickened heart beat, crackles of dry twigs, rustles of leaves and branches, scuffles against dirt and bark.

There was chittering from some animal several paces southwest.  An owl hooting to the east.  A cricket loudly chirping to the northwest.  Nothing too out of the ordinary, yet; it was largely silent around her.  Sending out a pulse of her Nen brought nothing back that she hadn’t already identified.  She could still smell him on the breeze, though, which meant he was to the slightly more distant west or northwest.

The way his traps had been set up were to catch someone coming from the almost direct north or south.  She decided to trace back and go around the area to the west to find more clues.

This took her very close to the edge of this side of the island.  From her perch, she could make out a fire burning on the beach.  It looked like there was someone or some _thing_ sitting out there by it, but she couldn’t tell exactly what from here.

She jumped down to get a better look.

The next moment, Jenoa was being pulled through the air by her ankle until she dangled upside down in a tree.  She swung there dazed for a moment, eyes focused on her bag that had slipped off and was now resting on the ground directly under her and beyond her grasp.  One of her tags had fallen out from her bra.  She should have made sure that she had secured everything better.  

How had she not seen this trap?

In the midst of her internal confusion and admonishment, the man that she assumed was the owner of these traps and whom she’d presumably been tracking came into view.  Not a very stable view since she was still turning on the rope and trying to cock her head up to see better, but she’d be able to identify him when rightside up.  Probably.

He seemed very sure footed coming this close to her, though she probably looked rather disoriented.  Kneeling down, he began rifling through her satchel in search of her tag.  He stood after snatching the other from the ground and- was that a _wink_?  “Sorry, doll, but I’ll be taking these!” he spoke, all smarmy.  She could have forgiven him had he left it at that.  But nooo.

 _Oh_ , no.  He took that moment to reach up and grope her ass.

So stunned was she that someone would _dare_ try to take advantage of her like that, that it took a moment before she reached for her dagger at her thigh.  With a swing up, she cut herself free from the rope.

While snatching up and resecuring her bag, an infuriated yell was all the guy got and needed before he took off in a panic and she gave chase.  The tags were _almost_ secondary to her now; she’d have his _head_ for that stunt!

He lead her back through the area where he’d set traps, intending to run her through that little gauntlet.  Too bad, douchebro - she’d disabled them.  The fear in his eyes as he looked back and realised nothing was being set off filled her with arrant delight.  She was lighter on her feet through the trees, but he knew the area better and was now spurred on by not wanting to die.

She’d humor that desire and play around with him a bit.

Jenoa let her whip fly just above his head at the branch he ducked under.  As it struck the wood, she forced pressure into the minute cracks formed, causing the branch to splinter and explode.  She did the same to the weathered rock he scrambled over, easily finding crevices to exploit.  It was a slightly false show of strength - a trick picked up in her Nen training - but _oh,_ did it get his heart racing, and those fearful screams were music to her ears!

He jerked something out of a pocket and turned, winding up to throw it her way.  A well-timed shift of air at his feet sent him slipping and tumbling down the steep slope of the forest floor here.

She threw a taunt down his way as he picked himself up and staggered back to his feet, “What are you so afraid of?  Little ol’ me?”  Jenoa laughed, giving the man a few seconds’ head start to dash off again.  She inhaled deeply with a stretch of her arms, then bound off after her prey once more.

This game kept up for quite some time longer.  At this point, she knew that she could catch him at will and needed to end this.  Following his current trajectory through an area that she was already familiar with, she decided to run on around the rocky expanse to cut him off on the other side.

Except he didn’t come out on the other side.

There was no way he’d gone past this point already, so she traced back the path he should have taken.  There was a chance that he’d veered off the trail in another direction, but it was unlikely given his state of panic.  People tended to stick to familiar - like the sight of a well worn path through the underbrush.

The trapper was found about half way around.  Slouched against a tree.  With a playing card jutting out from the bloody wound in his forehead.  Wide, panicked eyes dead to the world.

Her eye landed on the colorful perpetrator in question with a twitch.  She’d been so honed in on the chase that she’d nearly forgotten about everyone else on the island.  Though of everyone, why did it have to be _him?_  “Why’d you kill him?” she demanded with a snarl, hands planted on her hips.

Donning an unapologetic smile, number 44 responded with nonchalance, “He ran into me.  Yelling of a mad woman chasing him.  He seemed to have lost his mind, so I put him out of his misery.”

“You _stole_ my kill,” she tossed over her shoulder as she went up to the body.  Searching it over, she quickly realised that the tags weren't there.  Blue eyes narrowed, she looked back at where Hisoka stood leaning leisurely against a tree.

Jenoa let out a squeal of frustration and stomped her foot.  This _couldn’t_ be happening.  Her target was _dead_ already and unable to face her wrath, and Hisoka stood there _juggling_ her fucking tags.  ‘Livid’ didn’t begin to describe the magmatic swelling of emotions within her.

She really wanted to be petty and upset about her missed kill, but that voice of logic was screaming that she needed to figure out what to do about the tags.  Without her own, one of her two won tags, and the recently dead pervert’s tag, she was down to only _one_ point of the needed six - and less than two days on the island left.  She did not come this far to have her license compromised by a jerk!

She needed to calm herself and actually think this through.  But he made that so difficult.

“What’s wrong?” his voice dripped with false concern.  The air around him vibrated with his poorly concealed excitement.  “Are you missing something?”

He wanted something from her and was being purposefully obnoxious pushing her buttons.  His “request” from earlier came to mind, but would he want something more or change the requirements since he now held her other tags?  He seemed full of himself and extremely confident in whatever standing he had over her, so she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to make appeals.  Golden eyes took her in lazily as she wracked her brain for ideas.

She still had little idea as to his abilities.  He was clearly a Nen user, but she had yet to see him actually use any skills beyond enhancing his cards.  Or even really put any effort into anything.  She didn’t want to further reveal her own powers without knowing his.

If able, she wanted to avoid fighting him.  She could not see any way in which that would turn out favorably for her at this time.  He’d easily outmatch her in strength, possibly in speed.  The cunning sort that loved mind games, so she’d be constantly on her toes.  Her offensive Nen powers didn’t work well in crowded forest like this without making a mess of everything.  With his attention focused on her like it was, her more subtle Nen attacks wouldn’t work, either, especially if he was very perceptive and knowledgeable of manipulation markers.  She still had the poisoned pins hidden in her hair, but she’d have to manage to at least nick him.

Her only real hope was that he’d overlook something in his excitement due to tunnel vision.  It wasn’t her specialty, but for now she’d play into his desires.

Jenoa did the best thing she could think of: she marched up to the magician and yanked him down by his collar.  Angling her lips across his, she gave him that damned kiss.

Feeling his lips pull into a triumphant grin, she pulled back.

He was not happy with just the peck, she deduced when she felt herself slammed against a tree with his mouth back on hers.

At the assault, she reflexively sank her fangs into his bottom lip.  Blood welled up and, to her dismay, he _moaned,_  pressing into her harder.  Had she expected that kind of reaction, she would have just limp-fished the entire interaction - been as boring as possible.  Instead, she was only further turning him on.  But she was too far involved now to stop herself from pushing back.

His tongue traced along the length of one of her fangs.  She tried to bite him again, but it had turned into a game for him.  The hands that held her pinned to the tree now traced down her sides, nails sharp against her skin even over the material of her tunic, causing a shiver to race down her spine.  He pulled her thighs to his waist, pushing himself closer and ignoring the hands that shoved futilely at his chest.

Her back scraped painfully against the rough bark as she struggled against him.  Jenoa forced herself to still after she so clearly felt what that was doing to _him_.  A startled whine escaped her when he flexed his fingers around her ass, squeezing as he rocked his hips against hers.

The smell of him, the taste of him, was getting to her.  Someone so horrible shouldn’t smell so _good_.  Her heart pounded a quickened tempo along with her ragged breaths, and his own beat so strongly all around her that it drowned out the sounds of the forest.  She couldn’t concentrate enough to focus her Nen on manipulating _anything_.  At this rate, if she tried, she was afraid of losing control and setting off an explosion.

Her whip was useless at such close range.  If she could inch a hand up, she could pull out one of the needles from her hair.  With him hopefully distracted enough trailing his lips and tongue along her jaw, she might just be able to prick him enough for it to take effect!

She had just begun slipping one from its place just above her ear when he dragged his teeth slowly along her neck.  Her toes curled involuntarily out of unwanted pleasure, but she managed to bite her tongue to trap back the moan that threatened to escape her lips.

Face flushed with both arousal and embarrassment that he had managed to get such a reaction out of her, she jerked her hand down with the needle, intending to stab his exposed bicep.

But he was faster.

“I do _so_ love that look,” he whispered, squeezing her wrist with enough bruising force that the needle slipped from her grasp.

His other hand traced a finger along her still heated cheek.  Still off-kilter and concedingly out of her element, Jenoa belatedly noticed that he wasn’t supporting her against the tree anymore, but she was still being held off the ground.  Now that he was no longer all over her, she could feel the presence of his Nen at her back.

She tried to pull herself free, much to his delight in watching her writhe.

“My Bungee gum!” he announced, an air of pride in his tone.  Some kind of ‘sticky’ Nen skill, she supposed.  “Think of all the fun we could have with its uses.”

She scowled at what he was implying.  If she had her way, she’d never see him again after this damned series of exams.  She shrugged, trying to regain a cool, aloof composure.  “ _Really_ just reminds me of those fucking caterpillars.”  Except she wasn’t surrounded by noxious fumes, just an obnoxious man.

He only grinned, seeing through her false bravado.  Stepping back, before she could make any demand to be let down, he released the hold his Nen had upon her and the tree.  Jenoa barely caught herself in time from landing squarely on her ass.

Still too close for her comfort, he stared down at her.  Crossing her arms defensively and raising brow, she met his eyes and glared back.

With a flick of his wrist he held his hand out to her with the three stolen tags.  When he returned the tags, she noticed that he’d given her 80, her original target’s 3-point tag, instead of her own.  If there was something symbolic behind the move, she wasn’t about to acknowledge it.

The tension diffused from her being quite a bit now that she had all of her required points to pass the phase.  With the return of the tags, she had six points, and she needed to keep it that way.  This was the home stretch, and she only had to hold out through tomorrow.

Self-preservation was still kicking in her head and demanded that she leave the guy’s presence, but there was an itch in her mind and she couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to your tag?”

He looked down to where it had been pinned last time she’d seen him.  “It was fished off while I was otherwise occupied.”

She gave a noncommittal hum.  The words were deliberate, she knew, and it made her smile on the inside.  Little Gon had succeeded in his task after all.

Securing the tags away, Jenoa made to leave.  A nap sounded so lovely.  Maybe she could go find a nice, high branch and camp out for awhile.

“You don’t want to stay and chat?” floated to her, breaking her from the internal debate starting in her mind.

She halted.  The words skipped the filter and poured right on out against her better judgment, “And compound this series of bad decisions?  Like I wanted to waste time playing tonsil hockey with you.”  She commanded her feet to start their walking again before her stupid mouth got her into more trouble.

Hands busied bridging his cards before him, he countered, “That you initiated.”

“That I didn’t want!” she scoffed.

“You seemed to enjoy it.”  On what fucking planet?

Jenoa puffed up angrily.  Her dumb, traitorous feet marched her back over to the magician in lieu of getting her out of this prolonged mess.  “You _took_ my tags!”  She did manage to at least prevent herself from jabbing a finger at his chest.  It took great effort to keep her hands fisted at her sides, however.

“I returned them to you,” he stated very matter-of-factly.

“Because I kissed you,” she countered, feeling that tick under her right eye starting up again.

He chuckled and a sly smile broke at the corners of his lips.  “Incorrect.  You didn’t have to.”

His words gave her pause.  What did he mean?  “ _You_ said if I wanted the tag that I had to fulfill your request for a kiss.”

“Just for 80’s.  I have all of my needed tags.” The exaggerated rolling shrug of his shoulders spoke for just how self-satisfied he was in this outcome.  “There’s no need for me to hold onto extras.”

He’d outsmarted her.   _Not even!_  He had just let _her_ jump to conclusions.  

She could practically feel the steam pouring out of her ears.  Her mouth failed to form any words to retort, so with a sound of frustration, she finally turned on her heel and left in a huff.

Grumbling, Jenoa did not miss the irony in how she’d chased a guy across an island to kill him for groping her ass while Hisoka had gotten away with far more and had escaped mostly unscathed.  But she only had herself to blame.  He’d managed to burrow his way under her skin.

As weird as she thought it was at the time, maybe Illumi did have the right idea.  Burying herself in a hole sounded lovely right now.


	8. The Hotel Hoedown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the subs and kudos! They make a girl happy. :3 Comments always welcome! I've determined that the Yorknew arc is about where things are going to start diverging from canon. Before then, Jen will be home for a bit, so skipping the Heaven's Tower arc almost completely. But there'll be plenty of fun!

When it came time for roll call back at the meeting point on the cliffside, only ten of them had shown up with the required number of points.  While Jenoa was genuinely glad to see some faces here, her heart sank a bit when she saw that Ponzu was not among any of them.  She hoped the other woman was at least okay, but she couldn’t let this distract her.  After she had her license, she would check into her status.

With the ID tags of numbers 80, 34, 259, and 338 combining for six points, she was home free for this exam phase!

The final portion of the Hunter’s Exam was upon them, and only the most capable were now left.  It appeared that they would have some time to recuperate - she really just wanted a proper shower - before the final phase.  During this time, Chairman Netero stated his desire to interview them each in turn.

They all milled about the airship waiting for their turn.  Some camped out in the dining hall, others chose to just take it easy somewhere private.  She made small talk with Pokkle over a decent meal after freshening up some.  The questions asked by the Chairman seemed pretty straightforward going by what the others reported back after their turns.

Even going off what the other’s had said, she still felt on her guard heading towards the Chairman’s office after her name was called over the intercom.  As mundane as the questions might have been, they still tied into the final phase somehow, and they had yet to find out what the Chairman had planned.

She rapped on his door upon arriving and was immediately bid to enter.  Looking around, the room was fairly bare, but stately.  Chairman Netero sat on the other side of a modest desk with only a pad of paper and an ink brush before him.  He gestured openly for her to seat herself on the plush navy cushion across from him.

They both settled in, and the Chairman smiled at her while taking up the brush and paper.  “Now, Miss Jenoa, I only have a few questions here to sate an old man’s curiosity.”  At her nod to proceed, he continued with the first, “Why do you want to be a hunter?”

She’d well expected that one.  Her answer came easy enough, “As I’m sure you know by now, my family runs high profile wildlife reserves and sanctuaries that are home to a number of rare and endangered species - both flora and fauna.  A hunter’s license will help me keep operations smoother, given that it allows me freer travel and access to the hunter’s network.  It also certainly doesn’t hurt that there are fewer repercussions for hunters to dispatch poachers and other nuisances on their own.”  With access to the network, she’d also be able to better travel without leaving behind a trail.

Netero nodded along as he jot down whatever he took from her words into his notes.  “Indeed.  Now, I have a few questions regarding the other nine applicants.  Let’s begin with...are you keeping an eye on anyone?”  He looked up and quirked a brow towards her.

Her brow furrowed, unsure of what exactly he was digging for.  “I am always wary of the others given our shared situation and how we are often pitted against one another.”

He shrugged, maybe trying to diffuse her concern and lighten the conversation, “Anyone you’re especially keen on?”

She hummed to herself, not particularly wanting to disclose just how uneasy 44 made her.  Illumi in his current form made everyone keep their distance, so naming him wouldn’t raise any flags.  “Number 301 kinda gives me the creeps.  Gon’s always doing something interesting, so I like keeping an eye on him, too.”

He chuckled good naturedly in response.  “Which of the other nine applicants would you least want to fight?”

Like, a good half of them.  Her powers tended to work in extremes from gentle, cooling breeze to exploding blood vessels.  Even her simpler attacks could quickly become deadly.  Illumi was family - albeit distant - Pokkle would likely be a good ally to keep around, Hanzo seemed quite genuine with his code of honor, the kids had a lot of really good potential, and the blond boy and loud-mouthed suit seemed like pretty good people, as well.  Bodoro mostly kept to himself, so she didn’t know much about him beyond his proficiency in his martial art skills.  Aaand the only one left was the damn magician.

Who would she lose against?  Illumi would kick her ass, no doubt about it.  And she’d yet to see any of the others really go all out.  

Jenoa decided to be truthful here, “I don’t really _want_ to fight any of them.  I really like the kids, so I think fighting either of them would be kind of off-putting.”  She paused, then decided to add, “As I’ve said before, 301 makes me uneasy.  I know he’s pretty strong and skilled with those needles, so if able, I’d avoid him.”

“Fine answers.”  He finished scrawling across the paper.  The Chairman cocked his head in thought for several moments.  Then sat up and looked at her more directly.  “What are your thoughts on number 44, Hisoka?”

His question took her by surprise.  How closely had they been watching?  Why was he asking over him specifically?  Deny, deny, deny.  “Who?”  She played dumb, even if it sounded ridiculous not being able to identify quite possibly the most prolific member of the few nine other applicants left.  Especially right after she’d said that she’d been keeping a close eye on everyone.

He looked taken aback and clarified, “The tall lad with the red hair...cards?”

She shrugged, looking away, and kept her tight-lipped silence.

Netero blinked, grey brows raised, probably not expecting her to flat out refuse to acknowledge the guy’s existence.  “Okay, then, that’s all for now.  You’re free to go, Miss Vang.”

After respectfully bowing to the older man, she retreated from the room.  She decided to go find a quiet place to relax and meditate until they were called again to assemble for their destination.

The next morning was when that announcement came.  They filed out of the airship to see that they'd arrived at a pretty snazzy looking building.  White stone and marble pillars ran the length of the entrance courtyard.  A veritable palace loomed before them, accented in trims of gold and jade.

The previous examiners and the Chairman stood before them.  Netero opened his arms wide in greeting, “Lady and gentlemen, I hope you rested well?  This is a hotel owned by the Hunter Selection Committee, and where the final phase of your exam will take place.”  He turned and called over his shoulder, “If you will all please follow me, we can get started.”

They were lead through the ornate, high-ceilinged entrance and down a pair of sedately elegant halls before arriving at a large, open, unfurnished room.

Jenoa felt her heart quicken.  This was it: the final obstacle to obtaining her hunter’s license.  She could feel the tension in the air.  The others were just as jittery from nerves and determined excitement.

They waited patiently for the Chairman to explain the challenge.  One of the...assistants? guards? rolled out a large trolley covered by a sheet.  “For the final phase, we will be holding a one-on-one tournament.”  Netero pulled the covering free to reveal a board with the tournament bracket.  The order of the fights looked to be still blocked off at the bottom.

After a moment of silence taking it in, someone asked, “So, only the last person standing passes?”

Netero shook his head and held up a finger.  “No.  One win is all you need to pass!  The winners are removed from the competition, while the losers continue up the bracket.”  He gestured up the lines on the board to show.  “In other words, the person who finishes at the top will not pass.  Does everyone understand now?”

“So, what you’re saying is that only one person will fail?” the ninja asked, sounding unsure of his conclusion.

“Exactly!” Netero nodded exuberantly in confirmation.  In one quick movement, he whipped off the paper covering the pictures representing each would-be hunter along the bottom.

That gave a whole new view to the brackets, and everyone seemed to lean in to take it in better, calculating what it meant for their place in the standing.  Jenoa saw that she was placed third in from the left, right after the bracket putting Gon up against Hanzo.  That meant, according to what the Chairman said, she’d fight whoever lost that fight.

Netero was clearly proud of his work.  “Impressive, isn’t it?  Everyone has at least two chances to win!”

Pokkle spoke up, voicing one of the glaring issues with the bracket, “But some people, like 294 and 405 get six chances to pass.”

“It looks very...lopsided,” Hanzo added.  It was true.  Certain people would get several chances, while others had very few with this setup.

From the corner of her eye, Jenoa saw Bodoro shake his head in confusion.  “Why didn’t you use a balanced bracket?” he asked.

“A question that must be on everyone’s mind,” Netero acknowledged.  He went on to explain, “The bracket was assembled according to each of your performances during the entirety of the exam.  You’ve all been scored according to specific criteria.  Those who performed better received more chances to pass than those who scored lower.”

The kid with the white hair piped up, “That doesn’t sound right.  Can you explain how you scored our performances?”  Jenoa bit back a smile - someone upset at his apparent standing within the group?

Netero pulled a teasing face and gave a harsh, “No!”

“Why not?” the kid whined.

“Your scores are classified information,” was the excuse given.  “So I can’t tell you everything.  But I _can_ explain to you our methods.”  At this point, Jenoa started zoning out as he spoke.  She couldn’t care less about the methods used to get them to this point.  Many of the others looked the same way, so this was probably just a spiel to satisfy the few who did and to keep them from asking further inane questions.

Her eyes snapped back up when the old man clasped his hands together loudly.  “That is our process!  Now, then, onto the battle rules.  They’re quite simple: weapons are allowed.  No cheating.  If your opponent admits defeat, you win.  However!”  He pointedly looked to each of them before proceeding.  “If you _kill_ your opponent, you will be immediately disqualified.  All remaining applicants will pass, and the exam will end.   _Are we clear?_ ”

A chorus of various words of agreement came forth from the group.  Everyone was itching to get this underway.

“Right, then, first two up!”  The Chairman gestured towards the center of the room.

One of the guards stepped forward, seemingly to act as referee.  “The first match is Hanzo versus Gon.  Please, step forward,” he called.  “I will serve as the referee.  My name is Masta.  Best of luck to you both!”

A look of recognition passed over Hanzo’s face, “Hey, you look good!  You were tailing me during the Fourth Phase.”

“You noticed?” Masta exclaimed.

Jenoa looked to where there were nine others similarly dressed along the far wall watching them.  Had they all had tails?  She hadn’t sensed anyone following her during the last phase.  Either they were exceptional at staying hidden from her senses, or they had kept well out of range.  So someone _was_ reporting back on them each specifically.  That made sense for how they’d scored them last phase on the island, plus Netero’s questions.

“Naturally!” the ninja preened.  “I’m assuming that each applicant was assigned an examiner for the Fourth Phase.  I’m sure everyone else noticed.”  Damn.  While she’d noticed a few here and there on the island, she hadn’t thought that there were that many of them.

The ninja went on praising the referee for doing such a fine job assessing him, thus leading to his higher standing.  He finally asked a question that perked up her ears, however, “We only win if our opponent surrenders, correct?  It doesn’t count if we knock them unconcious.  No TKOs allowed, either.”

Masta nodded, “Yes, that is correct.”

Well, that was going to make this all more difficult.  She had Nen techniques for fairly easy knock-outs.  Thin the oxygen in the air gradually enough and most wouldn’t even notice until it was too late.  Though, without going all the way, she could still make the body highly uncomfortable while keeping them fully conscious.

She didn’t see this match ending easily.  They both came across as stubborn and strong-willed.  And within minutes of the match beginning, she had predicted correctly.  Hanzo had come on strong, immediately knocking the wind out of Gon.

The man definitely knew where to hit to maximize pain while keeping his opponent conscious.  Gon didn’t stand a chance against him, as it was, in a normal fight.  Jenoa could hear whispers from others now questioning the match line-up and overall phase.

Gon was tossed around like a rag doll for the next _hour_...with no end in sight.  Some of the others were visibly shaken by the spectacle, calling for it to end.  Vomit and blood coated the floor.  She was actually worried for the kid at this point.

The room was becoming hot and humid.  When she noticed condensation gathering on the walls, Jenoa realised that she was losing her grip on her temper and her Nen was acting out in response.  She feared she’d do something really stupid if she had to watch much more of this.  Once the others who were more Nen-sensitive began looking around curiously, pulling at their collars and wiping sweat from their brows, Jenoa decided she had to leave and get ahold of herself.  Someone would fetch her whenever the match was over.  As the heavy wooden door shut behind her, she heard a quiet, “Let her go,” from Netero.

Jenoa couldn’t imagine Gon winning this match.  She felt so bad for him that she’d probably throw her own first match just so he’d pass.  She had more chances.

Finally coming to a door that lead out to another courtyard, Jenoa slumped out and walked towards the large fountain pond at the center.  Collapsing on one of the stone benches, Jenoa cast her eyes to the sky.  The clouds tossed and tumbled in response to her Nen reaching out and tossing the air this way and that.  She let it.  Encouraged it.  It was an easy way to get her current frustrations out.

Before long a gentle rain showered down from the greying sky, the sun disappearing behind heavy clouds.  She welcomed the progressively larger drops upon her face and arms.  The sound of the pitter-patter against the stone ground and water of the fountain.  The wind through the pillars.

She was there for hours before anyone came to find her.  Her clothes were completely soaked through.  Even through the rain and petrichor, she smelled him before his unwanted mug came into view over her.  Sighing deeply with a roll of her eyes, she resolved to play nice for now.  “How’d the fight go?” she asked, mentally preparing herself now for her own fight.

“Gon won.”  44 crossed his arms, tipping his head back to watch the calming sky.

Jenoa sat up so fast she could feel the blood racing from her head.  She almost thought she’d misheard him or he was joking.  “What?”

He was looking at her peculiarly, not with the usual leer.  “The boy refused to give up.  The ninja threw the fight.”

“Huh.”  Well, now she had to rethink her strategy.  This would put her up against Hanzo instead of Gon and then Pokkle.  “Well, fuck.  Now I have to _not_ kill him,” she grumbled.  Her spirits were lifted some, however.

“He shouldn’t be too difficult for you to handle, one would think.”  Jenoa narrowed her eyes at the magician’s back as she followed him back to the door to head inside.  His left hand gestured around them and towards the sky.  Great.  He at least had an idea of what her powers entailed.

But Jenoa just scoffed, “I can make him bleed out his pores without killing him.  Probably.”  See what he’d do with _that_ bit of information.  Manipulation of air held far more uses than just making it rain.

He held the door open for her to go first.  She scowled at him pointedly and tapped her foot.  He could go first.  She was tired of him sauntering along behind her, staring at her ass.  A jerk of her head and he finally shrugged and stolled inside with a knowing grin.

Much to her disdain, it took actual effort to keep her own eyes off of his form.

She thought about whisking the water away from her drenched clothes and hair, but thought better of it as her plan formed.  She already knew one of Hanzo’s weaknesses that she could exploit.  Instead, she pulled at her hair to loosen it a bit.

When she re-entered the room, Hanzo was already standing at the ready in the center.  Flicking her eyes around to the other occupants, she took note that Gon was no longer there.

Netero looked over at their entrance.  “Get caught in the rain?” he asked with a grin.  Damn old man thought he had her all figured out, too.  Bah.

Stepping up to stand across from the ninja, she spoke, smiling toothily and letting her tone drip with saccharine sweetness and an edge of danger, “Okay, Hanzo, we can do this the easy way or I can start stripping.”

To his credit, he looked like he tried really hard to prevent his face from turning bright red.  Hand pressed against his scrunched face, he looked torn between calling it for a bluff and not wanting to chance her removing articles of clothing for the express reason of embarrassing and distracting him.

As strong as he was, he obviously wasn’t at all adept with Nen yet, so Jenoa fully planned to play dirty.  He was the perfect target for some of her finer tricks.  She’d just have to watch her grip lest she accidentally knock him out or kill him.

The human body was made up of numerous feedback loops, both negative and positive.  The brain tended to listen to them subconsciously in the absence of other tells.  Increasing the temperature in the air around the body aided the perception that he was becoming flushed and uncomfortable.  It made him sweat.  Putting just the right amount of pressure on blood vessels made the chest feel tight and the heart quicken and work harder trying to get blood where it needed to be.  He’d begin to feel panicked, like she really was affecting him.  She could also thin the oxygen around him, make him feel light-headed, but that ran the risk of actually causing him to pass out, so she’d see how this played out so far.

Hanzo was well into flustered, “alarmed” territory, so she didn’t expect him to hold out much longer.  She waited until he peaked over his hand to run a hand through her dripping locks and skim her fingers along the bottom hem of her tunic top, lifting it just slightly.

The ninja turned tail and walked out of the center of the room back towards the others, loudly exclaiming his surrender.

Jenoa skipped back to the sidelines, mood greatly elated with her passing the exam.  She shot glares and shook her head at those who muttered disappointed curses under their breath.  Like she’d actually strip for this kind of fight.

The following fights were largely uneventful affairs.  Number 44 and Kurapika had already gone, with the former somehow, and for whatever reason, surrendering.

Some couldn’t even be described as fights.  Hanzo took out his frustrations on Pokkle, who gave in within minutes.  Killua didn’t want to waste his time fighting Pokkle and walked off.

Despite being a master of martial arts, 44 far outclassed Bodoro and swept the floor in no time with the older man.

With Bodoro currently incapacitated, the suit - Leo-something? - insisted on delaying his next fight.  Which meant that it was now Killua versus Gittarackur - or Illumi, as Jenoa knew better.  This fight could go anywhere since Illumi was largely unpredictable.  Killua seemed very capable, but this fight worried her.

“It’s been too long, Kil,” she heard Illumi say.  Did he know Killua?

She hadn’t expected Illumi to reveal himself from his disguise, pulling the yellow-tipped pins out that held the visage of Gittarackur in place.  The ‘why?’ was answered the very next moment when Killua exclaimed, “Brother?”  Jenoa involuntarily joined in the gasps flying from around the room, but not quite for the same reason.  She knew of Illumi, but she had no idea that she even _had_ another cousin on that side of the family.  So the Zoldyck’s managed to hide whole family members in their secrecy?  She guessed it made sense given their family profession of choice, but to not even tell fairly close family about their children?  Were there others besides Killua?

“I heard you cut up Mom and Milluki.”  Illumi always had this odd tendency to ramble on airily.  His head tilted in thought.  “Mom was crying.”  He paused, eyes focused on Killua.  “Tears of joy.  She was so happy to see that you’d grown up.  But she was worried about you leaving home, so she asked me to check up on you.”

“Well, that sounds like her,” Jenoa mumbled to herself with a roll of her eyes as Illumi kept talking.

“I’m curious.  How do you know one another?”  She jumped, not expecting his voice in her ear again.  Last she’d looked moments ago, 44 was on the other side of the room.  

Jenoa scowled at the man, but answered, “We’re cousins.  My brother used to hang out with him, so I occasionally tagged along.  There was a bit of a falling out between the families, though.  Well, more between his mother and my mother.”  That was completely unneeded information to share.  What was wrong with her?

There was a ruckus going on down on the other side of the room.  Leorio was being blocked by two of the suited examiners.  “You want to become friends with Gon?  Are you daft?  You already are!” he yelled.

Jenoa felt like she’d missed something.  Stupid magician distracting her…

He continued, “I’m sure that’s how Gon feels!”

Illumi looked perturbed by that.  Raising a hand thoughtfully to his chin, he began talking to himself,  “Really?  That’s no good.  He considers Kil a friend.”  Another beat passed, and he announced, “Okay, I’ll kill Gon!”

No, she evidently just missed Illumi being Illumi.  It was hard to tell if he’d actually go through with such a threat.  He often said outlandish things casually just to provoke reactions.

He turned on his heel and began walking towards the large wooden door that she’d gone through earlier.  One of the examiners ran towards him to stop him, but Illumi was quick with his needles - a flick of his wrist and several were embedded into the other man’s face.

The painful contorting caused by the needles quickly got a response out of the man when he was asked where Gon had been taken.  At her cousin’s continued steps towards the door, several people ran forth to block him.

He made a sound of frustration and began talking to himself again, “This won’t do.  I need a hunter’s license to do my next job...but if I kill them, I’ll fail, and Kil will pass automatically.”  He made a sound like a whine and tapped a finger to his forehead.  “Oh, darn…  The same thing will happen if I kill Gon.”

Someone intelligent would probably come to the conclusion that he was smart and talking out loud just to psyche out Killua and everyone else.  Someone who actually knew him would know that this really was one of his weird quirks of habit.  Illumi was intelligent, sure, but he didn’t always think things through before beginning to act on them.  He clearly had the plan to scare Killua into surrendering by threatening someone he cared about, but was working out the kinks as he went.

A lightbulb seemed to go off in his head.  “I know, I’ll pass the exam before killing Gon!”  He turned to face Netero and asked, ‘If I wait until after passing the exam, I can kill everyone here and still keep my license, right?”

The Chairman heaved a sigh, “Yes, according to the rules.”

Illumi turned back to his brother.  “Hear that, Kil?  You have to beat me if you want to save Gon.”  He continued on monologuing.  Jenoa couldn’t believe he was having this kind of effect on Killua, who was rooted to the spot and quivering in his shoes, but the kid was still young.  Illumi was doing something with his Nen, but she couldn’t be sure exactly what it was.

And, in the end, it worked.  Killua muttered his surrender.

Illumi clapped his hands in front of himself with a laugh, “Oh, that’s good!  Then the battle’s over.  I lied Kil.  I was lying about killing Gon.”  He was half lying.  If he thought it would work and the rules were different, he’d follow through with the threat to get Killua to give in, though he would ostensibly stop at any point before then.  “That was just a little test.”  Uh-huh.

After that was when he knelt close and whispered rather discouraging words to his brother.  With the silence of the room, she could still make out what was said.  It wasn’t anything odd for the Zoldyck’s, but a certain phrase in particular stood out to her, “When the time comes, I’ll let you take the Hunter’s Exam.”  Killua still _had_ an opportunity to pass and acquire the license.

She couldn’t prove it, but she was sure that Illumi had a hand in what followed.

Killua became distant and unresponsive.  His friends tried to help him, but he seemed beyond help for the time.  The next match was still set to occur between Leorio and Bodoro, who was back to his feet and looking much better from his fight with 44.

Before the fight could even get off the ground, Bodoro was collapsing on the ground, dead.  Killua, still with wide-eyes unseeing, stood over him.  The blood dripped from his fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like the chapter? Didn't like the chapter? Have suggestions for the future or something that you'd like to see? Did I fuck up somewhere? Do you have questions? Consider leaving feedback! I reply where I can. :)


	9. Brand New and Shiny for You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those interested in progress updates, teasers, other works, and more, I now have a tumbler! You can find it at "mrfancyfoot.tumblr.com."
> 
> And after this chapter, new story arc! From this point on, there will be more and more deviations from canon. I’ll touch into the Heaven’s Arena Arc very briefly (really only in passing), and spend quite a bit of time on the auction at Yorknew, but from there it’s still up in the air. I don’t know if I’ll get into Greed Island at all, but I know the Chimera Ant Arc isn’t happening.
> 
> Because there’s not a lot of information available geography-wise, a lot of that is going to be free-form on my part. :D Totally open for suggestions! The next arc will take place on the Azian continent, where Jenoa’s Reserve is located, just north of the Kingdom of Kakin. Kabocha is my made-up country of choice in which to base the reserve.

 

With the death of Bodoro at Killua’s hand, a halt was brought to the fights.  As per the rules, Killua was disqualified from passing the hunter’s exam this year, and everyone else - ‘everyone’ really only being Leorio by that point - passed the exam automatically.  She was unable to follow-up with the kid any as he had taken off immediately.

Decision made, they were all shuffled into another room to receive their official license and complete the hunter’s orientation.  With the tiered lecture hall seating and the loading up of the hazy tape and projector, she was starkly reminded of her school days.

And, like her school days, she found herself wishing for a window to daze out.  None of the information presented in the droning, nasally voice was new to her.  It managed to go on for the time of a feature length film, but she would have felt rude asking for her license now so that she could just leave.  As it appeared to be winding down, however, the Chairman entered the room and began handing out the small stack of navy placards in his hands.

She gratefully accepted hers from him and flipped it open.  Resting recessed at the center was her very own hunter’s license.  Closing it, she gripped the placard tightly, taking in the Hunter’s Association insignia gleaming on the front.  It all seemed so surreal now.

There were many times during the exam where she was sure that she wouldn’t make it this far.  Having her food rejected by a picky gourmet hunter.  Getting stuck to the side of the Trick Tower unconscious for over a day.  Losing damn near all of her points on Zevil Island.  All things considered, the Fourth Phase’s tournament could have gone worse, she supposed.

Along with the various phase examiners, the Chairman and his assistant, Mr Bean, stood at the front of the room.  Netero cleared his throat, “Now, since half of you appeared to sleep through the entirety of the orientation video, my assistant here will touch on some of the important parts for you, again.”  He looked around the room to each of them.  “Before we get this wrapped up, however, does anyone have any questions?”

The blond boy from earlier stood and waited for Netero to nod in acknowledgment.  “Chairman, I would like to lodge a formal complaint:  I do not believe that Killua’s disqualification from the exam is fair.”

Leorio jumped up next to Kurapika and seconded the complaint.

Jenoa didn’t see what the big deal was; it wasn’t like he was barred from being able to take the exam again in the future.  He’d do just fine going through it again.  The circumstances surrounding what happened in the Fourth Phase were highly suspect, but there wasn’t much proof, from what she saw, that he’d been directly influenced by Illumi.

Netero prepared to speak, but was interrupted by the door at the back of the room being thrown open violently.  Gon, bandaged up from his earlier fight, marched in determinedly.  Head perched upon her crossed arms, Jenoa watched with mild interest as he made his way down towards the first row of seats to stand before Illumi.

“Apologize to Killua!” the boy demanded of Illumi.

Her cousin finally turned his head to acknowledge Gon.  “Apologize?  For what?” he asked, truly seeming to be clueless as to what had upset Gon.

Gon was taken aback.  “You don’t know what you did wrong?”

“Nope,” Illumi answered blankly.  Jenoa had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the absurdity of all this.  Gon would have flipped if he had seen all of this play out in person during the matches.

“You don’t have the right to be his brother,” Gon spat.

Illumi sighed.  “Must I earn the right to be his brother?”

The boy reached out with his one good arm and grasped Illumi’s arm.  In one fluid motion, he flipped Illumi out of his seat.  The man landed on his feet next to him.  Still gripping his arm, Gon growled, “He doesn’t need to earn the right to be my friend!”

An odd cracking sound resonated to her, but Jenoa couldn’t make out what had happened from here.  She sat up straighter, on guard now that it looked like something may escalate.

“Don’t bother apologizing,” Gon shook his head, “just take me to see Killua.”

Illumi merely cocked his head to the side.  “What will you do then?”

“That should be obvious: I’m gonna rescue Killua!”  Gon was resolute in his plan to find Killua and save him from whatever had happened to the boy.  Jenoa could only wish him luck - he didn’t know what he was getting into going up against that side of her family.

“You make it sound as though I kidnapped him…  He walked away on his own,” Illumi tried to clarify from his own version of events.

Gon didn’t buy it, and it showed in his continued rigid posture.  “But it wasn’t by choice.  He was being manipulated by _you_.  It’s the same thing as kidnapping him!” he justified.

Having enough of this squabble, Netero cleared his throat loudly and spoke up, “We happened to be discussing that very subject, Gon.  Kurapika and Leorio have both lodged complaints.  The committee has already discussed the fairness of Killua’s disqualification.”

Evidently seeing an opportunity to further explain his case, the blond boy spoke up hastily, “Killua had been behaving in a strange manner during and since his battle with the man who called himself Gittarackur!”  Kurapika nodded towards Illumi, then continued on.  “I believe that he was hypnotized into committing murder.  Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to use hypnosis to induce a person to kill.  However, Killua was raised in a family of assassins.  Murder was a part of his daily life, so it’s natural that he would lack the ethical restraint of most!”

Jenoa often forgot that Nen usage was not as commonplace as it often seemed in her line of work.  “Hypnosis” was probably the best way someone untrained could explain away the effects of Illumi’s Nen without actually knowing what it was.  A Nen-driven hypnosis, more akin to outright mind-control, would go quite a bit further than typical side-show hypnosis.

Leorio seemed to hesitate a moment before adding in his own theory behind the event.  “I want to mention that the attack happened during the match between Bodoro and me.  It’s possible that he was trying to help me.  Given that, the one who should be disqualified is me.”

“In any case,” Kurapika began his finishing statement, “Killua was not in control of his own actions.  Thus, he should not have been disqualified!”

Netero closed his eyes and nodded, briefly taking a moment to collect his thoughts.  “That is mere speculation.  There is no proof.  There were no clear signs of manipulation.”  He clasped his hands behind his back and shrugged.  “In fact, I would question the claim that he was _hypnotized_.”  Oh, look at the Chairman, dismissing and trying to throw them a bone all at once.  “I agree that the incident occurred after the battle between Bodoro and Leorio had begun.  At that point, both fighters were evenly matched.  Bodoro had more experience.  But in terms of raw combat ability, Leorio was the stronger.  There was no need for Killua to interfere.”

Huh, that hadn’t been how she’d read both fighters.  She honestly hadn’t put much stock at all in the suit’s abilities.  Stronger than the average person, maybe.  But a martial arts master?  That seemed like it was pushing it.  Maybe if he had Nen abilities to compensate for the lack of experience.

There were a few moments of silence, and Jenoa thought this was finally going to be wrapping up.

Then Pokkle stood, bracing himself back on the desk as he turned and addressed Kurapika - Jenoa sighed and laid her head back down on her arms, preparing for several more boring minutes of this.  “There was some other funny business happening.  Like when you fought Hisoka.”  That perked her ears again a bit.  He’d be talking about the fight after Gon’s and right before her own against Hanzo.  “Back then, what did he say to you?  Neither of you seemed particularly tired.  But Hisoka whispered something in your ear, right before conceding.”

He eyed the two suspiciously with a glower.  “That’s pretty strange.  I’d understand surrendering after your opponent whispers something to you, as happened with Hanzo and me, or Bodoro and Hisoka.  Because _we_ were under considerable pressure.”  Pokkle pointed an accusing finger at Kurapika.  “But in _your_ case, the exact opposite had happened.  I have to wonder if you struck some kind of bargain.  If you’re going to question anything that seems _odd_ , your own victory seems quite odd, indeed.”  He went on to demand that Kurapika immediately share what the magician had said to him.

Kurapika just shrugged dismissively.  “I have no obligation to tell you.”

He obviously wasn’t going to share what was said, so Jenoa began tuning back out.  There was more back and forth between the two for the next several seconds which was met by a loud groan from the ninja a couple rows down from her.  “Oi!  I want this lecture over with so I can leave!” Hanzo yelled across the aisle.

“None of that matters!” Gon interrupted again, fed up with the direction this all was going.  “It’s pointless to argue over whether someone should have passed.  If you aren’t happy about passing, keep working until you’re satisfied.  If Killua retakes the Hunter Exam, he’ll definitely pass!  It’s unfortunate that he failed this time, but it is what it is.”  Good, he echoed her thoughts exactly.  Hopefully this was all coming to a close, then.  Gon turned back to Illumi angrily.  “What does matter…  If you’ve been forcing Killua to kill against his will all this time, I’ll make you pay!”

“Make me pay?  What exactly will you do?” Illumi asked simply.  He seemed a bit more intrigued by the choice of words, however, likely hoping for some kind of action or challenge.

“I won’t do anything.  Only once I’ve rescued Killua, I’ll _never_ let you see him again!”  She had to hand it to Gon.  Of anything, that was actually probably what would upset the family the most.

Her cousin hummed and reached a hand towards Gon, his aura growing steadily foreboding.  Sensing something was up, Gon leapt back from the man.

“Is everyone finished?”  The Chairman made to break this up before it started up again or escalated.   “Gon is absolutely correct.  You must decide for yourselves if you are worthy of passing.  You may complain about the results all you like, but we will not be changing our minds.  Killua has been disqualified.  And the rest of you have passed the exam.”  His words held an air of finality.  Perhaps he wanted out of here as badly as she did by now.  Get this orientation over with, and they can go settle their fight elsewhere.

No-one else spoke up to challenge or make any more questions, and Gon finally took a seat nearby.

Mr Bean, his voice much quieter than the Chairman’s but clear and jovial, spoke up, “Okay, then I shall continue the orientation.”  He held up an example of the placard handed out to everyone.  “The cards we’ve passed out are your hunter’s licenses.  These cards allow you to enter ninety percent of the countries that limit immigration, as well as seventy-five percent of restricted areas in the world.”

Jenoa pulled a face.  That last tidbit was actually a part that irked those in her area of work.  There may not have been tons of licensed hunters, but those who went bad typically became leaders of the invading gangs and poachers that they had to deal with as conservationists and protectors.  They got in legally, then smuggled others in and out illegally.  The comings and goings of hunters through lands typically weren’t recorded.  A more unspoken perk of the card was its allowance for secrecy.  People saw you as a hunter and asked few questions about your presence.  The only thing that helped was an an amended act that let them selectively revoke access to owned lands.  They couldn’t always track the ID numbers, but they could blacklist individuals.  Those who managed to slip by would meet with harsher penalties when caught.

“This card also provides free access to ninety-five percent of public facilities, and a line of credit that rivals large corporations.  If you sell the card, you’ll have enough money to last seven lifetimes!  And if you keep it, you’ll still be living in comfort.”  Only if you actually put forth even minimal effort to do work - hunters were usually quite sought out for tasks and odd jobs.  “So, take extra care that you license isn’t lost or stolen,” the assistant warned.  “You won’t receive a replacement.  According to our estimates, one in five hunters lose their card within a year of receiving it.  As a hunter, your first challenge is to protect your card.  The rest is up to you.  Rise above challenges, believe in your own strength, and fulfill your dreams.”  He finished his spiel in the same upbeat tone as he began.

“Then, we now declare the eight members here to be new hunters!”  As Netero finished, there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone.  About damn time!  Jenoa stood and rolled her shoulders.  Grabbing her placard containing her license, she beat a hasty retreat from the room before anyone could start anything up again.

**xXx**

The evening sun was warm on her face as she stepped out into the courtyard again.  Enough time had passed that everything looked mostly dry from her earlier impromptu rain shower.

“Hey, Jenoa!” came a call from ahead of her.  Pokkle walked up to her with a grin.  “Feels weird now that this is all over, doesn’t it?”

Jenoa nodded with a laugh, “Oh, yeah.  Really had a few moments there where I didn’t think I’d actually make it.”

“Only a few?” he raised a brow good-naturedly.  “Anyway, here’s my email.”  He handed her a small piece of paper.  “Don’t be a stranger!”

She accepted it readily and placed it in a compartment in her bag where she wouldn’t lose it.  “Right back at ‘cha.  If you’re ever in Kabocha, come visit us and I’ll give ya a tour of the place!  We’re also hiring for various positions and jobs around the reserve, if you’re interested!”  He was sharp-eyed and seemed very acquainted with the outdoors and tracking.  He’d probably do well in a few of the positions she was looking to get filled in the coming months.

His eyes grew wide, not expecting the offer.  “Uh- yeah!  If you have an email or number I’ll shoot you a message.”

“Email’s just ‘jenoa’ at ‘vangwildlife’ dot com.  I think I have cards here somewhere, actually.”  Jenoa dug through her satchel to find the few business cards that she kept on her.

She found them beat up at the bottom of the bag, likely from having fallen loose of one of the smaller compartments at some point.  She picked the best looking one to give to him.  “This has my email on it.  The number’s old, though.  If you call it, you’ll get someone at the main reserve who’ll notify me, but that’s pretty round-about.  We don’t have hardlines at the Kabochan sanctuary, yet, so I’ll just give you my sat phone’s number.”  She found a pen and ended up doing her best to scrawl it on a piece of folded wound gauze when she couldn’t find actual paper - trying to write on the slick material of the business card had proven futile.

They parted, and she started making her way across the yard to bid farewell to the few others she cared to.  Her brief talk with Gon’s group was similar as she handed them her contact cards.

She thought about speaking with Illumi, but decided she probably wouldn’t gain anything.  And with things the way they were between their families, it was likely for the best that she just move on and forget about whatever weird shit was going on with them now.

Now she had to find the nearest airship port to book a ticket to the Kingdom of Kakin and start the trip back to the reserve in the Republic of Kabocha.  The plans forming were forgotten, however, when she neared the other side of the courtyard and caught a tall figure out of the corner of her eye.

“Salami Girl!” he called from down the path.  She sighed, rolled her eyes, and grinned all at the same time.  She hadn’t seen her brother in months, at least in person.

“Double-stuff!” she yelled back in kind as Milan approached.

“Spam-in-a-can!”  He lifted her up exuberantly and swung her around in a crushing hug.

She couldn’t help but giggled as he set her down.  She poked a finger at his arm.  “ _Twelve year-olds_ tried out this year, and I the first time I hear the joke in months is from a twenty-seven year-old.”

He ruffled her hair, knowing and completely uncaring of the needles still hidden there within the cobalt twists and plaits.  “I’m your brother; I don’t count.  S’what we’re made for.”   As she righted and smoothed her hair back down, he looked around at those still standing around the courtyard.  Disbelievingly, he asked, “They let actual twelve year-olds compete?  I don’t remember anyone that young when _I_ got my license.”

Ha!  She _knew_ it had to have been out of the ordinary.  “Yeah!  One even passed.  The other was...uh, disqualified in the last phase for killing someone.  Also, apparently a Zoldyck cousin of ours that I didn’t know about.”  She watched his face closely to see if he had known anything about this.  At his confused scowl, however, she knew he was as in the dark as she was.  Milan was a crappy liar if ever there was one.

“Who?” he asked, gaze lifting to watch something beyond her.

A quick pulse of her Nen revealed that Illumi and the magician, two signatures that she was quickly becoming far too familiar with, were nearby.  She tried not to scowl, forcing herself to just ignore them.  “His name’s Killua.  Not convinced that Illumi didn’t do something to him to make him snap like that.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment.  “Totally possible.  If he’s twelve that means they were hiding him from us even _before_ the feud started, though.”  Milan looked back over her and called out, "Hey, yo, cuz!"

She felt _both_ energies move to approach.  Damnit.

She didn’t want 44 near her, and she didn’t know how good of terms Illumi and Milan were still on.  Her cousin would still respond to potential assignments, but, as far as she knew, there was little communication between him and the rest of the Vang family aside from that.  She paid him his fees and that was that as far as she had been concerned for years.  A professional business relationship and nothing more.

If Milan noticed her uneasiness, he ignored it spectacularly.  Illumi and the magician towered over her at her side now.  She did her best to continue ignoring the red haired man eyeing them both with unconcealed curiosity.

Illumi’s dark eyes were wide with excitement.  “Another family reunion!  Milan,” he looked her brother up and down, “You look the same.”  He sounded almost disappointed in the realisation.

“And your hair’s significantly girlier than I last remember,” Milan replied with a grin.

Illumi plucked at a strand looking vaguely affronted.  “What are you doing here?” he asked airily.

Milan reached over and tugged on a section of her bangs, much to her consternation.  “Just making sure my little sister’s still alive,” came the reply with a teasing look back towards her.  She batted his hand away with a playful scowl.

Illumi scoffed, as though the idea were ridiculous,.  “It would be rather disgraceful for one of our blood, even as diluted as yours may be, to be bested by such easy trials.”  Sounded like he’d been listening to his mommy-dearest a bit too much.  Drinking that Kikyou fruit punch.

Her brother let the insult wash right over him and remained unperturbed.  “Well, Jenny was convinced she’d die without caffeine.”

Her cheeks reddened, remembering that concern she’d flippantly brought up weeks ago in partial jest while she was on the phone with him.  She rolled with his statement, adding in some self-deprecation, “Pretty sure I started going through withdrawal there at some point.”

Milan turned to face their cousin again.  “So what’s this I hear about some family members you all have been hiding away?” Milan plunged right back into the matter he’d brought Illumi over to discuss.

Illumi hummed, bringing a finger to his lips in thought.  Jenoa noted that his other arm had a gnarly bruise blossoming down the length of his forearm.  “You must mean Killua.  He’s the family favorite for heir.  As such, he’s been undergoing intensive training under father and me.  Mother didn’t want anyone told of him for his own protection.”

Milan’s brow furrowed.  “‘Anyone’ includes us?  As family?”

He and Illumi used to be fairly close growing up.  Hell, they all were until about nine years ago.  Jenoa couldn’t quite recall exactly what had started the tensions leading up to very limited and strained contact a couple years later.  Doing the math, she figured it would have been something that happened while she was in her early teens, a very hazy time in her life given what had happened to her when she was fifteen.

“You don’t have the same training as true Zoldycks.  Mother simply didn’t think you trustworthy enough,” Illumi explained as though it held all the answers in the world.  And it kind of did.  His mother was insane after all, taking paranoia and genetic superiority to whole new extremes.  There was no love lost there.

Her brother’s cool demeanor was slipping, she noticed, eyeing the twitch at his jaw and the way he ran his hand through his mess of blonde hair.

Jenoa made the decision to interrupt them in an effort to move this towards Milan and herself leaving.  And they didn’t need to rejuvenate the family feud beyond their mothers’ ongoing efforts.  “But really, why are you here?”  She poked his side.  It wasn’t like him to just drop by to check on her like this when there was so much work to be done.  If he really felt like doing such, he’d meet her at the new reserve so there wouldn’t be as much downtime in between for him.

“Picking you up on our way to Kabocha.  Mom’s already there,” he started to explain.

Jenoa squealed in horror before he could clarify, “ _What?_  Why’s mom there?”  Had she fucked something up already?  Why were her parents getting involved again already?  She gulped nervously in anticipation of Milan’s answer.

He laughed at her.  So the issue was important, but not dire at this point.  “We knew certain groups would try to come down hard and fast right off the bat, but it’s _quite_ a few more than anticipated.  You currently have a _bit_ of a pirate problem since there’s a lot of unclaimed coastline nearby.  Mom’s out cursing everything in sight, along with the twins.”

Oh, _those_ parasites!  Jenoa’s eyes lit up as she grinned.  Their captain was a cowardly man who liked to sit out in his comfy vessel while hired grunts ran around the protected lands and waters.  She’d never been able to touch him before because of a pesky little international law that said that she, as a civilian, could not retaliate against nor pursue “alleged” criminals into international waters.  At the same time, the Law of the Sea dictated that they couldn’t lose sight of the alleged for longer than twelve hours at any given time.  So she, or whoever made the spotting, would have to call for backup, which was useless if they didn’t arrive to pursue fast enough.  Captain what’s-his-britches was always very careful to make sure that his goons were not traced back to him, and if they were, he was quick to make himself scarce.  He was also otherwise a very hard man to find, or he would have been ridden from the world a long time ago with the wealth of bounties on his head.

Unfortunately, many countries did not see poaching and other environmental crimes as worthy of capital punishment, so certain problem criminals were dealt with via contracts and blueprints behind closed doors.  It spared them all the extra paperwork and headaches of doing it themselves since there were few licensed hunters on staff at any given time outside of the main family reserve.  Cases that got too much public attention were often handed off to more sympathetic authorities, at least where possible.  Where not, money often bought sympathy.  But poaching was extremely lucrative - so much so that simple prosecutorial fines were often taken in stride as the cost of doing business.

Her shiny, new hunter’s license granted her the appropriate authority to both pursue and retaliate against these pirates, and others, up to and including just outright killing the whole lot of them.  Oh, what fun this would be!

She felt giddy - the most excited that she’d been in a long time.  Taking them down would be her debut as a serious protector of her lands!  “Wait’ll they find out that I’m no longer just the status of a civilian ranger now that I have my license.”

Milan returned her grin, his bright blue eyes reflecting her own excitement.  “Yeah, he’s probably wondering why we’ve been a bit quiet.  Well, we’re saving him all for you!  Since you’ve had to deal with that asshole the most.  Just because you’re running point on this one, doesn’t mean that family can’t help out sometimes.  Think of it as a congratulatory gift for getting your hunter’s license!”

“What if I hadn’t?”  It had been close there, though she’d rather not reflect on that any further.  Especially with one of the bigger irks standing mere feet away.  She was surprised that he’d managed to keep quiet so long through this.

“Then the reserve wouldn’t be _your_ concern anyway.”  He didn’t mince those words any, and she’d already expected that answer.  If she was unable to get her license, then she wouldn’t be seen as ready for the responsibility of the new reserve.

The silent member of the group decided that was the best time to open his mouth.  “I’m sure you’d love to know that she passed each trial spectacularly.”  Jenoa looked to him skeptically, certain he had meant more in those words than the others would know.  Catching his unsubtle wink confirmed that.

Milan looked over to him, taking the man in as though he had only just realised he was standing there.  “And who are you?”

“Hisoka Morou,” he said happily with a short, embellished bow.

Looking impassive, Milan responded, “Ah, well, I’m Milan Vang.  And you’ve clearly met my sister and Illumi before.”  Usually he was quite the diplomat with new people and strangers.  He must have sensed something was up with the magician.

“Correct.  Jenoa and I were fellow applicants.”  If she was reading into that and their prior interactions correctly, that meant that he and Illumi knew each other coming into the exam.  That was...interesting, for lack of a better word.

Milan gave a satisfied hum.  “It’s actually pronounced ‘jen-wah.’  Like ‘quinoa,’” he suddenly joked, catching the retributory elbow to his ribs.

Jenoa glared and pulled a face at her brother.  “I _hate_ you.  So much.  I will be on the ship.”  She turned on her heel and began making her way out of the courtyard to leave the hotel.  “Hurry up, so I can go kill pirates!”  She shot back at him.

“Love ya, sis!” he returned.

She kept up her march and flipped up a finger.  “Fuck you!”

Without missing a beat he yelled, “That’d be weird!  And highly frowned upon.”  Slipping a needle deftly from her hair, she whipped it at him for his crudeness, though he readily plucked it from the air with ease laughing.  “Airship’s the other way!”


End file.
